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Vol. 12, No. 8 : The University Community's Feature
Paper : February 7, 1991
GULF
BETWEEN THE LINES
*THE
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*Fuel For Thought
BBlack History Month
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Photos by Greg Forte
Signs
of Protest
by Robert V. Gilheany
People all over the world Ihave been
taking to the streets in prottest of the
Gulf crisis. These acti(ons have
intensified since the outbreal c of hostile
attacks between the allies and Iraq.
While methods of the dem(onstrators
may vary from country to couintry, they
all share one common factor -- each feels
srongly that the current pat]h of war is
not the best one that could have been
chosen.
Waves of protest h ave swept
Europe.
On January 18th Germany
saw 50,000 Hamburg citize ns ban together in a public protest a gainst the
war, cited by the New Liberaition News
Service (NLNS). Among the many
demonstrations in German' y, a large
percen-tage has been hig3h school
students. On the 21st, the ou tside of the
Hamburg stock exchange was surrounded by anti-war demc:nstrators
who were attacked by poli(cer This
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upheavel led to the facility b(eing temporarily closed, not opening unýtil later in
the day. Nine of Germany's university
campuses have gone on stri ke: Gottingen, Frankfurt, Marburg, Bielefeld,
Siegen, Bremen, Mannheim, Freiburg,
and Chemnits. Fierce demo nstrations
in France are growing in number. The
Mitterand government has since
outlawed demonstrations in Paris, but
public pressure is making the government reconsider their participation in
Operation Desert Storm. Although
demonstrations have been outlawed in
Paris, this banning has not been paid
any heed by determined anti-war
activists who have chosen not to alter
their activities.
It appears that in every corner
of the world, people are expressing their
outrage. Pakistan and Bangladesh
demonstrations echo the chant of
"Americans, don't come here or we will
kill you!" 60,000 Australians marched
to their town hall to see Arab and
Jewish activists speak. The demands of
this rally callled for immediate ending
of the war, negotiating a settlement,
and the return of Australian troops to i
their homeland. In Morocco 200,000
people marched demanding that that,
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Cover photo-Greg Forte
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In the United States there have
been anti- war protests from coast to
coast. San Francisco has been a hot bed
of anti-war activism with thousafids of
people successfully blocking bridges
and tying up traffic. In addition, the
federal buildirn
was blocked. On
SThe :Stony -Brook-Pj'ess page 2
January 17 the San Francisco city
council voted to make the city a
sanctuary for COs (Conscientious Objectors). One member of the Board of
Supervisors was quoted as saying that
the city government refuses to
participate in "witch hunts" against COs
and will resist a war of racism and
suspicion against Arab Americans. In
Olympia, Washington, 1,500 students
from Evergrreen State University sat
outside of the capitol building for one
night. Students at the University of
Montana staged a die-in during a
basketball game, receiving national
attention. In Chicago 4,500 people
demonstrated, taking over Lakeshore
Drive, which runs along Lake Michigan. New York City radio station WBAI
announced a demonstration at the
Times Square recruiting station when
the war broke out. Thousands of people
took to Times Square and marched to
the United Nations building, which had
been sealed off by the cops. The
following day marchers took over the
Brooklyn Bridge. Incensed over the
fact that the major media outlets are
cheering on the war, not reporting
civilian casualities, and that censored
reports from the Pentagon are not a
reliable source of information (Last
year the Pentagon claimed that only
202 civilians were killed in the invasion
of Panama. The present tally is close to
5,000) several hundred New Yorkers
protested media bias at Radio City
Music Hall.
Closer to home, on Long Island
over 100 Ward Melvile high school
students walked out of classes on the
14th and marched to Congressman
Hockbruckner's office. There have
been weekly vigils every Saturday at
his office between noon and one p.m.
On January 19th, a national
demonstration was held in Washington
D.C. where 35,000 to 50,000 protestors
marched through the neighborhoods of
the capitol city. Speeches were given by
former Attorney General Ramsey
Clark, and the Rev. Jesse Jackson.
Also on that same day, three to four
thousand people marched in Boston.
The following Saturday, January 26th,
saw another, larger demonstration in
D.C.. For this rally, the Stony Brook
Coalition for Peace in the Middle East
organized a bus from the campus to
Washington. Scott MacDonald of the
SB coalition reported that "The bus sold
out quickly and the overflow was sent
to organizers in Port Jefferson." Similar
to most of the marches that have
occured within the United States, there
were significantly smaller numbers of
pro-war activists than anti-war ralliers.
Between 100,000 and 250,000 people
attended this gathering in Washington.
Featured were Veterans for Peace and
Palistinian rights activists who joined
the march past Lafayette Park and the
White House. The speakers included
Molly Yard, Jesse Jackson, and Daniel
Ellsberg.
The Stony Brook Coalition for
Peace in the Middle East held the first of
its weekly speak-outs against the war
and over one hundred students showed
up. There was a small number who
were in support of the war in the
Persian Gulf but most spoke out against
the war. These speak-outs will be held
every Wednesday from 12:30 to 2:30 on
the Academic Mall.
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How Not to Stop a War
On the front page of the
NewYork Times of February 1st, we see
two United States marines taking cover
from the Iraqi artillery attack. One is
lying on his stomach, his hands close to
his face; the other, kneeling, presses
himself on a wall. They must know that
eleven of their companions died two
days earlier after an Iraqi raid. At that
instant, do these two soldiers pray? Do
they curse their mother? Or do they feel
they are fighting for democracy?
Back Home
Tuesday, January 30th,
President Bush made a triumphant
entry in the House of Representatives.
For his second State of the Union
address, the Washington political elite
gave a standing ovation to the man that
decided to confront the evil Saddam
Hussein. George Bush responded to
their expectation by delivering a speech
that focused on the Gulf war and left
little room for domestic issues.
The free world has won the
cold war. And now Americans are
fighting for the so-called new world
order. Spelled out by Bush as an order
"where diverse nations are drawn
together in common cause to achieve
the universal aspirations of mankind:
peace and security, freedom and the
rule of law." (NewYork
targets. This war lasted eight years and
killed 400,000 people (a quarter were
The Iraqi action has unfolded a Iraqi and three-quarter Iranian), and
dramatic series of events. Thousands of perhaps 750,000 wounded. (MER, Nov.lives are at stake. The righteousness of Dec. 1990, p. 20)
The United States intervened
the American engagement cannot be
in this conflict when in 1987
directly
judged through polls. The virtue of "the
new order" must be weighed against Kuwait requested U.S. protection
the previous policies of the United against Iranian attack on its oil tankers.
States in the Middle East and the Survival of the free world through its
free access to oil, as expressed by
interests pursued.
Saddam Hussein was for the Ronald Reagan, justified the interlast ten years an U.S. ally in the Middle vention of the United States. Iraq made
East. It did not matter tha this man large use of chemical weapons against
killed, tortured or made exiles of hun- its Kurdish population and Iranian
dreds of thousands of his countrymen. troops in April and June 1988, which
allowed Iraq to reconquer some of its
(Middle East Review, Nov.-Dec. 1990, p.
41) He has thoroughly eliminated any lost territory. The unacceptable use of
political oppositions in ways similar to this arsenal did not deter the U.S. to
fully support Iraq. By mid-July 1988,
Stalin.
Perceived by many occidental Iran was willing to accept a cease-fire
leaders as a modern and secular head of tailored to Iraq's needs.
state, Hussein seemed to be the only
alternative thit could counterbalance The Invasion of Kuwait
the Iranian regime of Khamenei in the
The war against Iran cost a
early eighties. Still traumatized by the
American diplomats taken hostages by fortune to Iraq, but its economic
the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, situation was not desperate, given the
American politicians tacitly agreed to country's substantial oil reserves. At the
the invasion of Iran by Iraq. With the end of 1989, it has proven reserves of
goal of overthrowing the new Islamic 100 billion barrels compared to 811.8
Republic of Iran, Hussein would have billion barrels for the rest of the world.
become the power-broker in the region. (MER, Nov.-Dec 1990, p. 13) In late
Iraq miscalculated its force. The threat 1989, the Iraqi government announced
of Iranian victory and Iraq's collapse industrialization plans and a debt repaypushed the international community to ment schedule based on an expected oil
provide Iraq with sophisticated wea- price of $18-per-barrel OPEC had just
pons. The United States participated fixed. Instead, oil prices dropped in
largely in this effort and provided early 1990.
Iraq accused Kuwait and the
intelligence to the Iraqi army so their
Scud missiles could reach Iranian Arab Emirates of overproducing and
Saddam Hussein, Our Ally
by Jean Rousseau
Times, 11/
12/90) In these circumstances, the
invasion of Kuwait on August 2nd 1990
became "a threat to decency and
humanity." (ibid)
bringing the prices down. At a meeting
of the Arab league on July 15, 1990,
Tariq Aziz, foreign minister of Iraq, sent
a letter "accusing Kuwait of 'systematically, deliberately' harming Iraq and
undertaking economic aggression [that]
is not less effective than military
aggression." (MER, Nov.-Dec. 1990, p.
18) Another source of contention was
the refusal by Kuwait to erase the Iraqi
war debt of $30 billion and to give to
Iraq an additional $30 billion. (Village
Voice, 1/22/91) Beside these issues, Iraq
complained that Kuwait was pumping
oil from the Rumaila field that extends
beneath their common border. There
was also for Iraq, the problem of access
to the Persian Gulf and its revendication
of two uninhabited islands off Kuwait
that Iraq would have liked to use to
build a deep-sea oil terminal. On July
17, Hussein threatened military action.
As early as February 1990,
United States officials knew the
belligerent intentions of Hussein. But all
subsequent U.S. public statements indicated that the United States would not
intervene. A fact that did not escape
Hussein.
On April 12, the Iraqi leader
met with a delegation of U.S. senators
headed by Robert Dole. Economic
sanctions on Iraq over human rights
abuses were discussed in Congress at
the time, but Dole told Hussein "I
assume Bush will object to the sanctions. He may veto them unless something provocative occurs." (ibid) Dole
was stating Bush's belief that Iraq could
still play a positive role in the Middle
ast
continued on page 13
S February 7, 1991
page 3
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Should I Stay
or Should Go?
by Shoshanna Wingate
A Conscientious Objector (CO)
is someone who is morally, ethically, or
religiously opposed to war in any form.
The military presently recognizes two
types of CO status. The first is someone
who serves in noncombatant service,
i.e.; a medic, a clerk, or a driver. The
second type pertains to individuals who
are excused from military service but
must serve two years of community
service.
In addition, there are three
other kinds of Conscientious Objectors
that the military does not recognize.
One is termed Selective Objectors. A
Selective Objector is someone whose
conscience would not permit them to
participate in what they would consider
an "unjust" war. For example, some
people were opposed to fighting in
Vietnam, because they considered it
unjust, but they would have fought in
WWII.
Another
type
of -nonrecognized Conscientious Objector is a
Nuclear Pacifist. This is someone whose
conscience would not permit them to
participate in a nuclear war, or what
they believe would become a nuclear
war. Some Nuclear Pacifists are opposed to all war because they believe
that any war fought today would lead
to use of nuclear weapons.
The third type of CO is called
a noncooperator.
This is a person
whose conscience does not permit them
to cooperate with draft law requirements. Many noncooperators refuse to
register for the draft. Nonregistration is
currently illegal. The law says that
young men who do not register within
thirty days of their eighteenth birthday
are subject to possible criminal penalties
of up to five years in prison and/or a
fine of up to $250,000. They are also
ineligible for certain federal education
and training assistance programs and
civil service jobs (failure to inform the
Selective Service of your new address
when you move holds the same
penalties).
Upon registering for the draft,
there is no legal way to document the
applicant's CO status. There is no box
on the Selective Service card for
Conscientious Objectors. One can, however, write it across the top of the card,
make a photocopy and save it. This
document is proof that the applicant
was a CO when they registered. Again,
this method of CO documentation is not
legally recognized. Legally, one cannot
apply for CO status until they receive
their draft notice. There are about ten
Give War a Chance
by Jerry Katz
Ask almost any of the vocal
campus:
on
protesters
war
"disregarding the Persian Gulf, what
do you think of the U.S?" Most likely
they will say America is a racist
imperialistic power which forces it's
corrupt viewpoints on innocent
They will be quick to
countries.
condemn any "wrongdoing" the U.S.
does. Not once will they congratulate
this country when it does something
"light."
War is bad. No one can deny
that, but sometimes, unfortunately,
war is the only way to solve conflicts.
As for Iraq invading Kuwait, let's
remember that Iraq invaded a country
that supposedly was a friend,
considering Kuwait funded Iraq in its'
war with Iran, another country Iraq
attacked under Hussein.
The Stony Brook Press
Now, a question arises that if
Kuwait exported broccoli instead of oil,
would the U.S. defend it? Let's look at
history. We fought in Korea, Vietnam
and Grenada to contain Communism in
the Cold War. If one complains that
we're not fighting for democracy in
Kuwait, then since we were fighting for
democracy in those other countries, and
they don't export oil, then oil is not the
only reason to fight. The U.S. invaded
Panama to install a government that
was democratically elected, yet it was
nullified by a dictator. O.K., this justifies
fighting for der.ocracy, but what of
Kuwait?
Kuwait and Saudi Arabia are
not democratic countries; therefore,
why should we fight for them?
Foregoing oil for the moment, if you
complain about the U.S. invading
Grenada and Panama to install a
page 4
continued on page 18
days between the receipt of the notice
and the day in which one must report
for duty.
Because of this short amount of
time, Conscientious Objectors must
begin to document their feelingsbeliefs
and actions in their lives that would lead
them to become COs before they receive
their notices. Persons who believe that
they are Conscientious Objectors, or
that they might be, need to seek military
counseling. Persons who are trained in
military counseling can provide invaluable information on the process of
documenting proof that one is a CO. It
is a very detailed process and should be
started the minute one begins to question their stance on war.
According to Hands Off., a
resistance support group, a number of
Reservists who are being activated for
duty, but who feel that they are
Conscientious Objectors are being sent
to the Gulf and told to file their applications there. When they then apply,
the military tells them that they have
more important issues to deal with.
The first Conscientious Objector hearings of Reservists began on
January 22 in Camp Lejeune, N.C. Sam
Lwin, a Marine Reservist, and others
from Fox Company, refused to go when
they were activated, claiming they are
COs. They are being charged with
Missing Troop Movement and Unauthorized Absence. They were also
charged with Conspiracy although this
was later dropped. The military is
attempting to try them on their criminal
charges before their CO hearings. This
would make their CO status ineffectual.
There are members of the
SUNY Stony Brook Coalition for Peace
who are trained military counselors.
You can reach them through the
Coalition, or by calling 689-7290. You
can also call the War Resisters League
at (212) 228-0540.
The author is a member of
The Red Balloon Collective.
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sporadically to say the least, are heavily
condensed. Television news footage is
rare as well. How then can outsiders to
the situation express concern when they
are unaware of what is really going on?
The gap between the level of
opposition and the level of outspoken
opposition has been another powerful
component in the Gulfs overshadowing Lithuania's struggle. Both
the NATO Alliance and the European
Community have urged that Gorbachev use restraint when dealing with
the Baltic republic. Overall, Europe is
reluctant to implement a credit cutback,
which could be an effective means of
action for deterrence. For Poland,
Hungary, and Czechosolvakia, the
hesitation lies within a fear of altering
the Warsaw Pact, for all three are
dependent on Moscow. As for German
Chancellor Helmut Kohl, he is intimidated by the possibility of jeopardizing
the planned withdrawal of Soviet
troops from East Germany. And the
United States has admitted that
President Bush has far more important
issues to address these days than
Gorbachev's field day in Lithuania.
The game whose object is to attain
economic control and win political
dominance has shut out Lithuania's
cries for the most important inalienable
rights, independence and freedom of
expression. If the one of the allies'
concerns is Hussein's blatant disregard
Lithuanians dead and over seventy
injured, all at the hands of the officers. for Human Rights, why is Gorbachev's
In a statement which could almost be trampling over the Lithuanians being
amusing for its blatant ignorance were swept under the carpet? Because it
doesn't fit in the game being played.
it not so sickening, Gorbachev insisted
Geoffrey Hosking, a Soviet affairs
that the incident was beyond his
knowledge. Numerous officials have expert at London University, admits
stated that there is no way such a large that "Gorbachev is using the world's
operation could have been carried out if attention on the Gulf to get away with
Gorbachev had not been directing from this." "This" is the pursuit of his own
behind the scenes. Yet, such events are desire for stifling control over millions
of people, which has resulted in deaths
still not given nearly enough attention.
and injuries for many innocent people.
In Lithuania, there is not a contest of
economic superiority but rather, it is a And as long as this world bully is
ignored, he will continue on his path of
struggle for independence. As a result,
their fight for sovereignty is viewed destruction, crushing anyone who
stands in his way. Moscow News
simply as just another revolution.
Media coverage has been limited. dubbed the event in Vilnuis "Bloody
The conflict in the Middle East has Sunday." Protestors have carried signs
making a frightfully appropriate
dominated the press and television.
comparison, "Hussein in Kuwait,
Lithuania, by comparison, has received
limited attention. Articles, printed Gorbachev in Vilnuis." In short, Gorbachev is getting away with murder, free
and clear.
Back In The USSR
by Debra L.McKee
January 1991: The calm routine of a
typical day for many people is abruptly
broken as air-raid sirens pierce an
otherwise peaceful atmosphere. Immediately, all action is frozen and everyone, young and old alike, experiences a
rising fear of what the next few
moments are going to bring. Although
the following sequence of events is not
exactly known, there is an awareness
that a long-existing conflict is approaching a new level; a level of real
confrontation. It is with this realization
that these people prepare themselves to
face an enemy who holds no respect for
human beings or their rights and whose
capability for brutality knows no limits.
The time period of this scenario
would most likely lead future posterity
as well as contemporary readers to
think this is a description of the war in
the Persian Gulf, and in particular, a
reference to the numerous attacks on
Israel by Saddam Hussein. And although this is indeed a feasible connection, it is not the only one possible.
The victim of attack here is not Israel, it
is the Baltic republic of LIthuania. The
perpetrator of violence here is not
Saddam Hussein, it is Mikhail Gorbachev. Unfortunately, due to the
prominence of the Gulf War, many
people are not aware of the conflict
between Lithuania and the Kremlin.
And for those who are aware, it is all too
easy to forget as the fight in the Gulf
rages on.
The overshadowing of the Gulf war
on the Baltic strife is due to three main
factors: the general scale on which the
conflict has been placed, the degree of
media coverage, and the level of outspoken opposition. The catalyst which
has encouraged these factors is one of a
desire for economic control. The claim
of the allies who are against Hussein is
that they are stopping a madman who
will otherwise be uncontrollable. This
concern places the Baltic crisis as
distant second to the primary concern
of economic superiority which essentially leads to political dominance.
The scale of events in Lithuania have
inadvertently been categorized as much
smaller, and thus much less important
than those in the Gulf. The Baltic
republic has been in conflict with the
Kremlin since March of 1990, when it
first declared its independence. The
Soviet Union's response has been primarily military in nature, an uncontendable obstruction to Lithuania's
quest for independence. In January of
this year, hundreds of Lithuanian
demonstrators in Vilnuis formed a
human chain around the republic's
television station; a peaceful protest of
their refusal to yield their natural
independence to the control of the
Kremlin. They were met by uniformed
guards carrying metal rods. What was
intended as a non-violent demonstration turned into a brutal confrontation which resulted in fourteen
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February 7, 1991
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A Severe Case of Misfortune
by John Sealy
On December 4, 1990, Philippe
Valbrune and Emanuel Severe, members of the Haitian Student Organization, were arrested at a blood drive
while protesting a since rescinded FDA
blood policy. The two Stony Brook
students face University disciplinary
charges for violating six University
conduct codes. Valbrune and Severe
have also been charged with second
degree riot charges by the Suffolk
County District Court. A court date has
been set for March 13. The HSO
contends that on December 4 at about
11:00 am the conflict occurred at the
entrance to the Alliance room of the
Frank Melville Jr. Memorial Library.
Severe claims he was dragged ifito the
building by Public Safety officers,
restrained, and jabbed repeatedly in the
back. He further claims that PS Director
Richard Young apprached him and
punched him twice in the face.
"We were assaulted. The result
was many injuries, including a case of
bruised ribs."He continued by saying
that "force was necessary to stop them
from coming in...We have to protect
blood drives. That's our job." Later,
Young added that "There will be
violence when one starts violence...
There was a tremendous amount of
restraint on the part of Public Safety."
Young also reported that "In a
previous incident, building guards
attempted to tell them to leave if they
had just left the room or show I.D.'s...
They felt it was a racist conflict but it
really wasn't."
Mr. Young is also involved in a
case pending regarding former student
Mark Gianotti who, when contacted by
the Press in December, said that he was
jumped by Public Safety in the SBS
building.
Allain Moise, the chairman of
HSO,mentioned that there is a history
of conflict between Public Safety and
the HSO. In October of 1989, Public
Safety ordered HSO to leave a room in
SBS where they held committee
meetings. This conflict, however, ended
in an apology from Public Safety
according to Moise. Young says it was
a matter of the Haitians failing to
produce identification and leaving the
room. He also claims it was an attempt
to create a racial incident when in fact
one did not exist.
President Marburger's December 10 memorandum, "The Unacceptability of Violence on Our Campus," is
viewed by Moise as a threat to supporters of the HSO ["In addition to
legal actions initiated at the time of the
incident, a complete examination of the
role of participants in this incident will
be conducted ... "]. The memorandum is
seen by Severe as a prejudgement of the
guilt of the pair arrested on December 4.
Public Safety is not the only
problem that the Haitians at Stony
Brook have encountered. The aftermath of the FDA's ruling, a policy
unsupported by hard data and scientific
facts, has resulted in something far
more reaching than student arrests. A
small, underdeveloped third world
country, Haiti is suffering from bankruptcy because of the loss of their main
source of income, tourism.
Ironically, in a December 5
press release, "New Blood Policy" the
ban on Haitian blood donations was
lifted. It states that "Haitian blood,
thought to play a major role and, not
A Liberation At Home
by
Walter
Schneider
On January 5, 1990, this past
Tuesday, our campus was granted the
privilege of hearing Maki Mandela, the
eldest daughter of the ANC leader
Nelson Mandela, speak on both the first
hand information she had compiled
from living in South Africa and her
personal views on what will be, what
should be and what is.
Ms. Mandela made it very clear from
the beginning that she was speaking as
a concerned and socially active South
African individual and not as a member
of any organization. She told students
they should avoid "hero worship" of
only those leaders that the media
displays, because doing too much of this
down plays the importance of activism
among the rest of the population. She
talked, at length, of various specific
cases she had dealt with as a social
worker in South Africa. The Group
Areas Act, instituted in South Africa in
1966, among other things, forces people
to go to hospitals that are "black,"
"white" or "colored." Basically the
government designates a person with
one of the three labels and then uses this
label to say where this person can go to
school, where she can live, work, or be
buried. Ms. Mandela said that she had
seen instances where the Group Areas
Act had caused hospitals to separate
mothers and children. This usually
happened when the mother was said to
be "black" and the child was said to be
The Stony Brook Press
"colored." Needless to say the white
health care facilities are given more
money than the rest, but Mandela spoke
not of a minor biased allocation of
funds, but of white South Africans being!
appear to not even be in the same
century much less the same country.
There has been much talk about the
repealing of the Group Areas Act, and
the Land Acts. Ms. Mandela regards the
treated at hospitals on a par with the
best in the world, while black hospitals
have almost no doctors but instead are
run by nurses. These hospitals are
ridden with cockroaches, and would
repealing of these laws as a good first
step, but just that. She stated that the
government's talk of eliminating
apartheid has raised the hopes of black
people but if there is no apparent
page 6
known to play a major one, in the
transmission of HIVI or HIVII."
Eight months before a team of
Haitian doctors demolished the specious argument, Dr. Emile Jean-Baptiste,
President of the Hatian Biomedical
Foundation (HBF) appeared before the
advisory committee in April of 1990 and
convinced them to vote in favor of his
position and said of the new ruling, "It's
a victory over the forces of deceit." Dr.
Doaoo, a Ghanian intern practicing in
New York State, said the charge against
African blood is equally faulty. He was
quoted as saying, "A.I.D.S. is less
prevalent in Africa than news reports
indicate." The change in F.D.A. policy
followed a series of demonstrations,
including one in April in New York City
that involved 50,000 people.
President Marburger rejected a
Polity Senate recommendation to ban
blood drives on the Stony Brook
campus. Marburger overruled this
proposal although Nassau County
Community President Sean Fanelli said
that he would not allow any more
charitable blood drives on campus until
the FDA rewrites its ban on doners from
Haiti and parts of Africa. In that same
vein, Marburger squashed a University
Senate resolution that would ban
military recruiting from the campus
due to the discriminatory hiring
practices of the armed forces. A
%Wit
improvement in. the quality of life for
the majority of South Africans, then the
repeals would simply be token gestures
and the violence would continue to
escalate.
During her various speaking
engagements, including
both a
reception and a press conference, her
personal opinions were displayed most
when talking about the fact that she
didn't have faith in the ability of
sanctions to help black South Africans.
One of her fears was the possibility that,
the companies which would pull out
before South Africa became majority
ruled wouldn't necessarily come back
once this was achieved. Although Maki
Mandela's views do not discredit the
ANC's position that sanctions will be
beneficial in the long term, they would
appear to function as an important
reminder that Americans shouldn't
underestimate what has often been
called the "short term sacrifice". There
is no such thing as short term death.
On a related note Mandela said that
she was "suspicious" of the motives of
American activists (mainly whites but
not excluding blacks) who have
concentrated on promoting change in
South Africa more than promoting
equality between blacks and whites in
the U.S. (not to mention Asians, and
people of other ethnic backgrounds.)
I've heard that there are many Africans
who believe that Americans can best
help Africa get racial equality after
Americans achieve it themselves.
Which is not to say that helping to fight
oppression in Africa is a bad idea, but
there may exist the danger of thinking
that, since other people are in a worse
situation than yours, you may become
tolerant of the racial injustices that
permeate American society as you read
this article.
XW
I
i ·
·
-
I
I
Runnin
on EmF )ty
by James F. Barna
Commuters to the University returned this semester to find a new fee
levied against them by the University, a
bus fee. The fee, officially called the
Transportation User Fee was first
described in a letter to students included
in the University's registration packet.
The letter read, "Effective January 1,
1991 all users of the Campus Transportation System will be required to pay
a fee of either: $ .50 per trip, or $10.00
per month or $25.00 per semester."
The letter further described that
"the structure of the Campus Bus Fleet
and the total service that it offered to the
community was not equal to the need."
"The Transportation User Fee will
allow us to subsidize the operation and
provide SAFE, EFFECTIVE and
EFFICIENT transportation throughout
the campus through the 1990's" The
decision to institute a bus fee was made
in part by Hugh Mulligan, Director of
Parking and Transportation Services
for the University.
Mr. Mulligan stressed two reasons
that the fee was necessary. First, the
buses that were used until late last year
were between seventeen and twenty-six
years old, this necessitated the purchase
of new buses; six have been bought, and
six more are on the way. Second, the
state has greatly reduced the amount it
provided for transportation.
Mulligan further stated that the
needs of the community will require a
revised bus system. To show this he
mentioned the proposed Cogeneration
Plant. This plant will be built on ground
that is now a faculty/staff lot. When the
lot is lost the school will most probably
confiscate a student lot, thus creating
more bus riders.
Mulligan confidently told of the
service increases that were planned for
the future, weekend and evening routes
will be added, as well as a hospital
shuttle and two more local buses. He
also said that in the fall a bus to the
Smith Haven mall was possible. When
asked what reaction there has been
from riders, Mulligan simply said,
"Look, with a fee, nobody's happy."
The reaction from students that
must pay this optional fee has been
muted at best. Gennero Ritienn, a
freshman who rides the bus five days a
week said, "It's like I hate it, but you
can't blame the school." He went on to
say that "it's better than no bus."
While many students dislike the fee,
most are paying it because they have no
alternative. One student bus driver
explained that the parking problem is
much worse at other schools. He said
"It's just the price [of the feel that's
unfair." Asked if he's had any complaints about the fee the driver said that
there were some angry faces.
The opinion of many students was
perhaps summed up by a young
woman who recently transferred from
another school. She said that compared
to all the other costs of college, "I don't
dIJJII
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payng
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ars
FOOTNOTES
Woody's Corner No Sleep
Woody Allen's most recent flick, Alice,
continues his struggle to transcend the
egotistic phalocentrism of Manhattan.
Vicariously, through the portals of the
saccarin Mia Farrow, the question of
whether of not one can ever go back is
answered with an emphatic NO!! To go
back would require a flashforward into
the future as in Sleeper, Bananas, etc. It
is true, Alice does not live here anymore.
She has withdrawn into her own didactic _.
Alice is playing at Loew's in
Stony Brook.
Quilt to Last
Quilts as Mosaics of CulturalDiversity
is on display in the Student Union
Gallery in celebration of Black History
Month. The colorful designs are rich in
cultural imagination, making you wish
your room looks like this. Faith Ringgold is among some of the artists. The
show runs through February 12. Noon5:00 PM, Monday to Friday. Located on
the second floor of the Union. Call 6326822 for details.
Red Light
District
The Alternative Cinema is presenting
Last Tango in Paris on Wednesday,
February 13. Directed by Bernardo
Bertolucci, the controversial film was
originally rated X, but later re-edited
into a rated R version. Still, this movie
about sheer sexuality in a relationship is
worthwhile. But try not to get too
excited in your seat. The opening
reception is 6:30 PM. Screening at 7:00
and 9:30 PM, in the Union Auditorium.
Price is $2. Call 632-6136 for a helping
hand.
The Sleep Center, located in University
Hospital, is presently studying the
nature and treatment of insomnia. If
you are 18-65 years old, in good health
and have had longstanding (at least 6
months) difficulty with sleeping, call
today for a free evaluation for taking
part in our study. The evaluation takes
only 2-3 hours. The phone number is
444-2916. Ask for Dr. Seliger.
Boxed Away
Today at 4 PM, Astronomy Colloquium
will present The Universe in a Box with
Jeremiah Ostriker of Princeton University. All is invited. Refreshments will be
served fifteen minutes before the
seminar. Call 632-7880 for further info.
The Czechs
Please
The Staller Center Orchestra Series is
featuring The Czechoslovak Chamber
Orchestra, with Jaroslav Krcek con-
ducting. Fanfaremagazine called them
"attractively bright, gleaming sound
and fine resilience." Mozart's A Little
NIght Music and Divertimento in D
Major will be featured. The price is
$22.50, $20.50, $18.50. 8:00 PM in the
Main Stage of the Staller Center. Call
632-7230. Sounds prety good.
4-F You Decide
Because the military maintains high
physical and mental standards for its
soldiers, many people who consider
themselves physically fit could qualify
for 4-F. A draft counselor can provide
you with information about medical
conditions which may disqualify you
from service. If you believe you qualify
for 4-F, it is very important to get your
condition documented by a doctor.
If you have a psychiatric problem or
have a criminal record, you also be
classified 4-F.
The military considers gays, lesbians,
and bisexuals "unfit for military
service." If you're gay and are willing
to inform military officials, this will
disqualify you from military service.
-Fellowship of Reconciliation
IKIUIT
General Interest Meeting
Organize Earth Day!
Save the Environment!
Prevent Consumer Rip-Offs!
Protect Children's Health!
Febr~r
u r OthIl'.l C7§30
a
Union Bi-Level
__j
more.
February 7, 1991
page 7
EDITORI IAL
__
The Stony Brook Press
Caveat Lector
"In recent years, the mainstream media has become increasingly
conservative and pro-corporate.
Mergers in the media industry have
accelerated, threateningto further limit
the spectrum of viewpoints which are
accessible. Well-financed rightwing
groups harass the media for being 'too
liberal,' targeting journalists who uncover unpleasant truths about poverty,
inequality, government corruption or
U.S. military and nuclearpolicy."
Chopping off the head of the
messenger that brings bad news
certainly isn't a very democratic way of
doing things. However, it seems that
the organization that published the
above quote,
FAIR (Fairness And
Accuracy In Reporting), has recently
been proven correct. The mass media
coverage of the war in the Persian Gulf
has influenced what seems to be a peak
of conservatism in public opinion
regarding the excess - not the
censorship or biased reporting of information being published regarding
the war. In a survey of 924 adults,
taken by the Times Mirror Center for
the People and the Press (January 31,
1990, issue of Newsday), 57 percent
"favoured allowing military officials to
place additional restrictions on the war
coverage in the gulf."
It seems that a desire to make
the war seem less serious and more
gentle is based on a genuine upsurge ol
patriotism and support by people whc
feel that this war is being fought for the
sake of democracy, and that any
information that might contradict this
belief in and support of such a strongly
felt cause may dangerously lower the
morale of the nation and the troops. On
Long Island alone, hundreds
demonstrated their patriotism and
support of the President and the troops
by marching in the streets, holding
mass prayer and peace vigils. There
have been massive nation-wide
demonstrations protesting the war also a show of patriotism and support
for the troops. There were two marches
in Washington, D.C. on January 19 and
January 26, at which 50,000 and
250,000 people attended - gathered to
support the troops as well as
considering other inhabitants of this
planet that could face danger because of
this war - and demanding an immediate
cease-fire.
In fact, there have been
massive demonstrations before and
after January 16, 1991, all over the
world, in all of the allied countries, and
since tLe U.S. attack on Iraq there have
been literally millions protesting this
war and calling for a cease-fire. Yet it
seems that these demonstrations are
underscored, distorted, censored and
ignored by the mainstream media. One
problem with the coverage of these
important statements people are
making is that on any given station or in
any paper where you may see or hear
about a story of a protest, it is usually a
short clip or picture of the biggest dolt in
a tie-dyed t-shirt they could find
burning the American flag. Of course,
placing a story covering a nationwide
demonstration on page 50 .doesn't help
either. Actually, many of the protesters
at U.S. demos carried American flags
and wore countless numbers of yellow
ribbons with pride.
According to FAIR, from
August 8, 1990, until January 3, 1991,
only one percent of the coverage
devoted to the Gulf crisis "dealt with
popular opposition to the U.S.military
build-up in the Gulf." This is an
example of media bias.
Peter Arnett, the infamous CNN
reporter, or rather, "Iraqi Pawn," as he
has been dubbed, is accused of saying
only what the enemy will let him say,
thus spewing enemy propaganda. But
does he have a choice? And shouldn't
we want to hear what such an
important king in the global chess game
has to say? He and CNN are being
held responsible for letting loose onto
the world the propaganda of a
madman, airing an exclusive interview
with a Satanic figure and thus lowering
the morale of our troops and our nation.
"'CNN...is essentially his ministry of
propaganda. We treat our own worst
enemy the same way we treat our own
leader," says Ted Smith, director of a
graduate program in journalism. This
is a quote from an article in the January
30, 1990 Newsday entitled: CNN
Exclusive: News or Propaganda? In
this article the reporter, Rita Ciolli, is
discussing whether or not the airing of
the interview is propaganda in itself.
Only one quote of Hussien's is
mentioned: "(he) was heard praising
the 'noble souls of the U.S, who are
demonstrating against the gulf war.'"
The rest of the quotes cited, five all told,
are from supposed experts on
propaganda and the media. Four have
a decidedly biased tone, referring to the
Iraqi President as despicable,
manipulative, and analogizing him to
Hitler. The only person that made a
statement that addressed the issue, yet
also asserted a universal assumption
regarding the war, was Easton Jordan,
a vice-president of CNN, who said that
the charges made were "'baloney'" and
that '"Thisis a man who brought the
world to war, certainly his views,
whether you like them or not, are
newsworthy."
"No!"
The most righteously
indignant person will yell. "Saddam is a
Nazi, he's definitely despicable and
evil!" From an entirely subjective and
human perspective, he or she is right.
However, the ideal of objectivity is an
ethical model that true news reporting
must attempt to live up to. When
reporting on any dual or multi-faceted
issue (like a war) the rules must stand:
don't take sides, don't ignore any
pertinent side of an issue and
exaggerate another (if it can be helped),
and don't agree with any one side.
Naturally, complete and comprehensive
objectivity is impossible and it is a myth.
In fact, objectivity is an ideal that did
not come into play in the reporting of
the news until the early twentieth
century.
Towns and cities eventually,
had only one or a
very few'
newspapers, radio or T.V. stations,
naturally, as those that reaped the least
were inevitably squeezed out. The
people necessarily demanded objective
reports of the latest facts,
with.
viewpoints and special interest features,
safely separated, thus developing a
code of ethics for news reporting, and.
The Stony Brook Press p.age 8
Executive Editor
Lara Jacobson
drawing the line between news and
opinion.
It is important that there still
be the ethical expectation of the public
to receive news from the mainstream as
is, unbiased, "clean" if you will. People
understandably condone and accept
military censorship during wartime,
but they shouldn't like it. It is, ir- all
honesty, better to hear it all now than to
put it off for twenty years until the
movie comes out. If some piece of
information is going to be censored,
that is unavoidable. However, the role
of the mainstream media should serve
the purpose of providing people with as
much information as possible so they
can ask their own questions and draw
their own conclusions about this war
and about everything else, as well.
Detecting media bias early can change
information being censored in the
future. Sensationalist images with
huge, enticing headlines, on T.V. with
biased commentary in the background'
is not what this war is.
The
mainstream media attempts to make
the war seem safe and clean, kept
under control by the highest of hi-tech,
and fought for a valiant cause under a
great and wise leader. War has, is, and
always will be devastating and horrible,
no matter how just and necessary. No
"New World Order" will be able to heal
the wounds this war could (and already
has) inflicted, not for a very long time.
It is a grave matter and must be
handled seriously. Making a tabloid
Rambo movie out of a major crises is
not entertaining, in fact, it is a disgrace
and an ugly joke.
It seems that if the media is
receiving such tremendous heat for
publishing information about this war
that is already being censored by the
Pentagon and the U.S. Defense
Department, then it is little wonder that
the American public is reading, seeing,
and hearing biased information.
Editors, T.V. and station Directors,
journalists and reporters alike feel the.
crunch eventually. Ultimately, an
article or report must be written for the
media's audience in a capitalist media in
which,
unfortunately,
fashion
Manging Editor
John Sea
Associae
Editor
Scott Skinner
Businefts Maaage
Michellereck
News Editor
Debbie McKee
Arts Editor
Eric Penzer
Photo Editor
Greg Forte
Copy Editor
Joe DiStephano
Production Manager
Rick Teng
Minister Sans Portfolio
Retcher Johnson
STAFF
Jean Rousseau, Fred Mayer, Robert Gilheany
Robert Rothenburg, Walter Schneider, James
F. Barna, Scott Warmuth, Steven Forster,
Kate Owen, Steven Kreps, MJ XII, Mtichell
Weissberg, Andrew Fish, Wayne Myer, Chris
Delvecchio, Shoshanna Wingate, Susan
Tarbet, Julie Stock, Inju Keum, Irin Strauss,
Don Fick, Emily Schwartz, Rudy Babel, Lan
Wo, Laura Rosenberger, Lisa J. Tracey,
William Capozzi, Jaz Trader, Captain America,
Christine DeFazio, Curtiss Leung
The Stony Brook Press is published biweekly
during the Academic year and intermittently during the
summer session by The Stony Brook Proe Inc., a student rut
and student funded not-for-profit corporation. Advertising
policy does not necessarily reflect editorial policy.
(516)6326451
Suit 02,Central
Hal
SUY at Stony Brook
Stony
Brok, NY11794-2790
sometimes dictates public opinion.
Ultimately, the consumer decides what
kind of information he or she reads
about this war, but the only way a
person can ask any questions at all is if
he or she is presented with conflicting
perspectives.
There are many
alternative media through which to
seek more and different information
about nearly any public-interest topic.
Alternative sources of information
A National Student
Response to President
Bush's Letter to College
Students
Student Leader News Service
Address - President Bush
If armed men invaded a home
in this country, killed those in their way,
stole what they wanted and announced
that the house was now theirs - no one
would hesitate about what must be
done.
And that is why we cannot
hesitate about what must be done halfway around the world: in Kuwait.
There is much in the modern
world that is subject to doubts or
questions - washed in shades of gray.
But not the brutal aggression of
Saddam Hussein against a peaceful,
sovereign nation and its people. It's
black and white. The facts are clear. The
choice unambiguous.
Right vs. Wrong
--
9r
-Ir
The terror Saddam Hussein
has imposed on Kuwait violates every
principle of human decency. Listen to
what Amnesty International had documented. "Widespread abuses of human
rights have been perpetuated by Iraqi
forces...arbitrary arrest and detention
without trial of thousands...widespread
torture...imposition of the death penalty
and the extrajudicial execution of
hundreds of unarmed civilians, including children."
Including children. There's no
horror that could make this a more
obvious conflict of good vs. evil. The
man who used chemical warfare on his
own people - once again including
children - now oversees public hangings
of dissenters. And daily his troops
commit atrocities against Kuwaiti
citizens.
This brutality has reverberated throughout the entire world, if
we do not follow the dictates of our
inner moral compass and stand up for
human life, then his lawlessness will
threaten the peace and democracy of
the emerging New World Order we
now see: this long dreamed vision we've
all worked toward for so long.
A year after the joyous dawn of
freedom's light in Eastern Europe, a
dark evil has descended in another part
of the world. But we have the chance
and we have the obligation to stop
ruthless aggression.
I have been in war. I have
known the terror of combat. And I can
tell you with all my heart: I don't want
there to be war ever again. I am
determined to do absolutely everything
possible in reach for a peaceful
resolution to this crisis - but only if
peace is genuine, if it rests on principle,
not appeasement.
But while we search for that
answer, in the Gulf young men and
women are putting their own lives on
hold in order to stand for peace in our
world and for the essential value of
human life itself. Many are younger
than my own children. Your 4ge, most
of them, doing something they believe
in.
Let me tell you about one of the
soldiers over there, SFC Terry Hatfield,
a young man from Georgia. He sent me
a Christmas card. And this is what he
wrote.
"Mr. President, I just wanted
you to know my soldiers and I are
ready to do whatever mission you
decide. Freedom as we know and enjoy
had been taken from another country
and must be restored. Although we are
separated from family, friends, and
loved ones, we will do what must be
done...we stand ready and waiting. God
bless you and the USA."
Terry understands the moral
obligation that has compelled our extraordinary multinational coalition to
make this stand in the Gulf. To look this
international terrorist straight in the eye
and say: no concessions. To proclaim
for now and for the future: no compromises. To bear witness by our
presence to the fact that aggression will
not be rewarded.
Terry waits thousands of miles
from the White House, yet we share the
same thoughts. We desperately want
peace. But we know that to reward
aggression would be to end the promise
of our New World Order. To reward
aggression would be to destroy the
United Nations' promise as international peacekeeper. To reward
aggression would be to condone the acts
of those who would desecrate the
promise of human life itself.
And we will do none of this.
There are times in life when we
confront values worth fighting for. This
is one such time.
Each day that passes means
another day fro Iraq's forces to dig
deeper into their stolen land. Another
day Saddam Hussein can work toward
building his nuclear arsenal and
perfecting his chemical and biological
weapons capability. Another day of
atrocities for Amnesty International to
document. Another day of international
out-laws, instead of international law.
I ask you to think about the
economic devastation that Saddam
Hussein would continue to wreak on the
World's emerging democracies if he
were in control of one-fifth of the
world's oil reserves. And to reflect on
the terrible threat that a Saddam
Hussein armed with weapons of mass
destruction already poses to human life
and to the future of all nations.
Together, as an America united
against these horrors, we can, with oui
coalition partners, assure that this
aggression is stopped and the principles
on which this nation and the rest of the
civilized world are founded are pre
served.
And so let us remember an<
support Terry Hatfield, all our fine
servicemen and women, as they stan<
ready on the frontier of freedom
willing to do their duty and do it well
They deserve our complete an<
enthusiastic support - and lastini
gratitude. (^
I-
WIL-Ar
-%WJF
CHICAGO- Student anti-war
networks from Florida to Texas to
California worked last week to
listribute the following letter to college
and university newspapers around the
:ountry. The letter was written by
Nlicholas DeGenova, an organizer for
Chicago Campuses Against the War,
and has been signed by student
organizers on hundreds of campuses as
of press time: [Many of these student
coalitions across the U.S. were planning
a national meeting for Chicago
Saturday, January 19 in Chicago at
Loyola University.]
If you were a college student
and the president of the United States
invaded your campus newspaper with
a letter asking you to support this war,
you might not be alarmed. And if, fortyeight hours later, he invaded your
mailbox with a draft notice, and if you
were told to report to the induction
center in two weeks, you might wonder
how this whole thing ever got so out of
hand. And if several weeks later your
mother received a letter and a box that
couldn't be opened, the time for alarm
and wonder would be past. No one
should hesitate about about what is to be
done.
And that is why we do not
hesitate now to make clear to you our
unconditional opposition to this war.
We hold you responsible for what you
are doing halfway around the world,
and we will not be fooled by your
attempt to create the fiction of popular
support for this impending genocide.
Neither the troops in Saudi Arabia nor
the draft-age "potential troops" in this
country are willing to believe your lies.
As you say, "the facts are
clear." Granted, Saddam Hussein perpetrated the human rights abuses to
which you refer. We are not surprised
that you are very well acquainted with
the details, since you supported these
actions until August 1990 when you
saw better use of this dictator as your
newfound enemy. Apparently, such
atrocities only trouble you when you
find it convenient to condemn them as a
means to whip up war hysteria. Your
hawkish propaganda cannot conceal
your own atrocious foreign and
domestic policies. The irony sickens us
as you send more money to Salvadoran
death squads on the same day as we
receive this pathetic plea for our blind
faith. You want and need us to see you
as good and pure, but we can't ignore
your bloody history. In Chile. In Nicaragua. In Panama. In Grenada. In
Libya. In El Salvador. In South Africa.
Yes, indeed, the facts are clear.
As are your intentions in the Middle
East.
This war is not about good and
evil. This war is intended to secure the
continued control of the oil resources of
the Middle East by multi-national
corporations. It is about the security of
their profits. This war is also about the
restor-ation to power of the Kuwaiti
emir who has nothing to do with the
aspirations of the people of the region;
the monarchy was installed by the
British colonialists. It is a cynical joke to
call such regimes "emerging democracies." The war is furthermore about
__
LETTEI RS
the likely acquisition of permanent
military installations in Saudi Arabia,
which the United State has sought for
decades. It is about the reassertion of
U.S. military dominance confronting
the decline of U.S. global economic and
ideological hegemony.
You write that your concern is
with the promise of a "New World
Order." Here you speak candidly. Your
vision of this new order, however, has
nothing to do with the interests of the
great majority of humanity. You seek
unquestioned, unchallenged global
domination which was never wholly
accessible during the Cold War. Hence,
you have escalated a local conflict into
an historic crisis. The threat to peace
comes from your relentless aggression.
If we do not follow the dictates of our
inner moral compass and stand up for
human life, we dread to think of what
you will do. You are morally bankrupt
and expect us to pay your debt - with
our lives.
The choice is unambiguous,
indeed. We refuse to allow you to
sacrifice the lives of tens of thousands
on both sides of the conflict. A genocidal war against the Iraqi people is
inherently racist. Likewise, the racist
character of the war is betrayed by the
prepond-erance of African-American
and Latino youth who now find themselves on the front lines. A "poverty
draft" has driven countless poor and
working class youth into the military.
Let us remember all the fine men and
women whose lives are in the balance,
nearly one hundred of whom, along
with unnumbered Iraqis, have already
perished from this escapade. We must
bring them home now. We are committed to resisting your war.
AN
APOLOGY
On December 12th, 1990 I
witnessed a demonstration held in the
Administration building here at SUNYSTONY BROOK. Generally, I see
campus protests as being learning
experiences, rooted in the 60's tradition
of change, thus preparing students for
life after college. This time I saw
protests for what they actually are.
Protests of expressions of disagreement between different thinking people.
These differences will cause some
people to be affected psychologically
and/or physically. For this reason, I
apologize to all that have been affected
by our differences in the past.
continued on page 10
February 7, 1991
/
page 9
LETTE RS
__
continued from page 9
I seek to evolve and improve
the ways in which I deal with adverse
situations, instead of adding disharmony to existing problems.
I am
apologizing for those, and to those who
do not understand this principle. Yes,
people would do better if they knew
better.
As an African-American, I try
to build from the American Experience.
I search to improve and gain wisdom
from the past. The 1960's and 1970's
are eras that are popular. Boycotts,
protests, philosophies, and even
fashions have been revived from the
past as being ways and solutions for the
future. In this day and age I choose to
advance and create constructive ideas.
There is a time and place for all things,
but they must be done properly and in
order.
I attempt to bridge gaps and
not create them. I cannot condemn
anyone who does not agree with me
even when I am right. I must recognize
the misunderstandings of others and
then try other ways that I can make
people receptive. Again, I apologize to
those who have suffered because of
misunderstandings, and I wish everyone a better future.
Brian Greer
People fifty and older were the
ones who saw the raise of the hated
symbol of the separation from their
families and friends who stayed on the
other side. They were the ones who
came to see it fall and help tear itjapart.
The majority of activists and speakers
at the various demonstrations has also
been of the age of forty and older,
which you would have realized if you
had been present prior to the resignation of the regime.
Far from being the moving
power, students have put the action of
citizens taking down pieces of the wall
in a bad light. On New Year's Eve a
group of drunk students climbed a
broadcasting tower near the Brandenburg Gate. The tower collapsed under
their weight and killed twelve people.
Another group of teenagers ascended
the Gate and demolished one of the
horses of the Quadriga, a statue which
is part of the historical monument. The
act was driven by the impulse to
destroy and without any political motivation.
Being a student myself, I
would like to be able to support your
interpretation, but it is simply not true.
Political or
Consumer Freedom?
The most upset I got, was
The author is a student-employee
when I read the part of your article,
in the Administration building.
Sure, it is hard for us to
understand how important consumer
freedom can be. We grew up in systems
of constant surplus. The citizens of East
Germany were daily confronted with
the differences between East and West,
because they were able to watch the TV
channels from the other side, with their
commercials of products, which these
people had never seen in reality.
If you were right and the
interest in the freedom to shop was only
implied, then how do you explain that
the visitors went back to the system of
democratic socialism after the stores
were closed? Why did they not stay in
the country of democratic pluralism if
that has been what they were fighting
'for? Why did so many of the
"revolutionists" stop fighting for the
realization of their political demands
after they had been able to travel and to
shop?
Janina George
VIEWPOINT
VICTORY
FOR
NATIONALISM?
I read your article about the
reunification of Germany. I am a native
of the former West Berlin and I have
spent the first twenty years of my life in
this city. I have grown up being
surrounded by the "circular crystal,"
"made of concrete." The Wall has
hindered me to visit the rest of my
family in the other part of the city for as
long as I can remember. You can imagine my enthusiasm when I saw the
monument of the Cold War falling
down last November.
Your one-sided presentation of
the historical events in East Germany
and its consequences for the citizens of
Germany and the rest of the world has
left me rather disappointed. I wish you
would have done some more serious
research or you would have at least
spent more time in Berlin, talking to a
variety of people with different political
outlooks before publishing your article.
I can only hope that not too many
students here, who do not know better
about the political and economical situation of both parts of Germany, have
read your article and formed an opinion
based on the information provided by
your piece of journalism.
The Role of Students
Your article evokes the impression that the moving power of the
revolutionary act in East Germany as
well as on the other side of the wall was
personalized in the students of both
countries. If you would have looked
around you when you "stood...in front
of the Wall," or watched the coverage
on German TV, you would have seen
that people of all ages, from toddlers to
senior citizens were actively involved in
the events of last November.
The Stony Brook Press
which you titled, "Victory for
Nationalism." You are stating that, "The
fact that West Germany's economic
power...is being used to destroy and
consume the GDR has left [you] somewhat saddened." In my opinion it is
rather saddening that you are presenting your or someone else's interpretation of the political development in the
reunited Germany as a fact.
I believe that the majority of
the people who were involved in the
revolutionary actions were interested in
the freedom to consume as well as in the
freedom to determine their political
future. You are saying that you saw the
crowded streets of Berlin in the first
days after the Wall was open for
everyone to travel and even leave the
GDR, but you had obviously not
watched the people who had come to
West Berlin.
The main purpose of most of
the visitors from East Berlin was to
shop. West Germany was giving a gift
of 100 Deutschmark to every visitor
from East Germany. After receiving the
money most of them went shopping tropical fruits, chocolate, children's toys,
clothes, and Walkmen. Some of them
did not buy anything, because they
were too overwhelmed by the variety
and availability of products. Some of
them cried, emotionally moved by the
fact that from this point on they would
be able to shop the way they had
dreamed of all their lives.
Talk show WABC
is Anti-American
by Steve Abraham
On Friday, January 18, I listened to a talk show
program on WABC regarding the First Amendment.
I was enraged at the ignorance of the talk show host
who accused protesters of anti-American action
against the government and the troops stationed in
Saudi Arabia.
Voicing opinions against protesting is a right and
can be exercised rationally through various
exchanges of arguments on both sides. But to incite
violent hatred toward protesters is outrageous.
How disgusting it is to mock protesters with
immature babbling. It is sad that this host is so onesided with his view on democracy. What makes this
nation great is its diversity of voices. This host
vehemently endangers this diversity.
Protesting during times of war does not
necessarily speak out against soldiers. Sure, I agree
that some protesters protest for the sake of psychedout hysteria because "it's fun." These protesters know
nothing of the purpose of protesting against war.
They are in this respect naive and dangerous. But
there exists protesters who are aware of political
issues involved. Some protest against war in general.
And some speak out against this particular war
because they hold different views. Many of these
protesters have their loved ones and/or friends out in
the desert facing danger far more frightening than a
low paycheck. Our soldiers are perhaps facing death
in the hands of fanatic Iraqi patriots similar in
fanaticism to kamikazi pilots of World War II. These
protesters don't want the troops to come home in
body bags. Is this talk show host saying that these
protesters are also "mentally-ill scumbag bums?"
(note: it is also a fact that a solid group of anti-war
protesters are veterans). This discriminatory stereotypical accusation reveals the closed-mindedness
that plagues this nation.
page 10
At one time, this host screamed to the microphone
that he was so angry at the protesters yelling outside
his window that he would "spray them out with an
uzi if I had one." What kind of an idiot is this person
to resort to this kind of rhetoric ? Slaughtering
students in Tiannamen Square, murdering Jews
during World War II, and Hussein killing his own
people because "they opposed his command" are
scenes that crossed my mind when this host
screeched out this childishness.
One caller voiced his opposition to protesting
(coincidentally, 9/10 of the callers were against
protesting and in favour of the host) by saying that
the United States is not fighting for oil, but to rid
Saddam Hussein, a dictator who has executed
thousands of his own people and invaded Kuwait as
well. I may have believed in this democratic
ideological motive if the United States had acted in
the same manner when students in China were
butchered by its own government, or when Israel
seized the West Bank from the Arabs. But this didn't
happen because China's ordeal did not conflict with
American economic interest and religious favouritism probably led to U.S. neutrality in the Palestinian
issue. Besides, what Hussein has done to his "sons
and daughters" (in fact, these people are the Kurds,
enemies of Iraq) is not for us to judge or condemn. A
simple reason for the U.S. offensive is that Kuwait is
one of our colonies, as if this land does not belong to
the Mid-easterners at all.
How about Panama and Granada? Did Iraq or
other countries condemn the U.S. invasions of these
countries? Did Iraq deploy its troops to Panama or
Granada to restore world order? And if Iraq did
commit this act, wouldn't the U.S. fight to defend
their claim, also? Clearly the Bush Administration
has reasons other than to restore world order. Most
likely for capitalistic gain; while Bush's son is
climbing the corporate ladder, poor kids who'd
signed up because of economic-reasons (having no
continued on paqe 12
COMMENTA ýRY
Searching for Synthesis
soundly defeated by a vote of 3-6-9. Students went
home, and campus closed up shop. During intersession, the Stony Brook Coalition for Peace
continued to meet, and plans were made for two
rallies in Washington D.C.
New York City last fall saw the formation of
a city-wide coalition of students calling themselves
Students Against U.S. Intervention in the Middle East
(SAUSIME). Before the war started, SAUSIME
struggled to increase its numbers beyond a central
core of extremely active students from the New
School for Social Research, Columbia University,
andr
by Fred Mayer
"We don't need this bureaucratic bullshit!" - heard
duringa recent meeting of the Stony Brook Coalition
for Peace.
War has a way of changing everything.
And it does so in ways which are impossible to
anticipate. Many of us did not seriously believe that
President George Bush would actually initiate aerial
genocide on a scale not seen since World War II.
Although most of us realized that media bias and U.S.
Defense Department censorship would restrict the
public's knowledge of events in the Middle East, no
one expected tlh-t the coverup would extend into our
own cities, wh__- :-as&iv anti-war protests have
been either completely ignored or ieported in grossly
misleading ways. Pcrhaps most importantly, however, is the fact that it is doubtful that anyone realized
how difficult the task of building a unified national
anti-war movement would turn out to be.
For myself, one image best captures the
nation's response to the anti-war movement. On the
night the war started, a drunk driver plowed his car
into a column of protesters on the Brooklyn bridge,
seriously injuring seven people. As I held the bleeding head of a young man in my hands (before police
came and threatened those of us attending to the
injured with arrest) it occured to me that there had to
be another way to fight our government. This notion
became strengthened in my mind by the fact that the
bridge incident went totally unreported in the New
York Times, and quite badly reported in Newsday.
George Bush's "no Vietnam" pledge was no idle
threat, and the bourgeois media institutions in the
U.S. have more than willingly complied with our
government's desire to shield the people from the
truth concerning events both at home and abroad.
There should be no doubts left in anyone's mind that
- to use Gil's words - "the revolution will not be
televised."
t'he
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maior
difficulty for SAUSIME was the frustrating lack of
cooperation provided by the Coalition to Stop U.S.
Intervention (also known as the "October 20
Coalition"). The best example of this was the
Coalition's refusal to share student telephone lists
with the SAUSIME steering committee. The
frustration level grew even greater when the now
famous "split in the movement" developed after the
December 1st meeting of the more recently formed
National Campaign for Peace in the Middle East.
(For those who don't know, the Coalition called for a
January 19th march in Washington D.C., while the
National Campaign called for a January 26th
march.) The lack of respect for students - on the part
of the National Campaign - was well captured by the
agenda of the December 1st meeting, which placed
students dead last on the list of topics to be discussed.
Nevertheless, an important student caucus was held
at the end of the day on December 1st. During this
meeting, a national student formation took shape,
calling itself the Student and Youth Campaign for
Peace in the Middle East (SYCPME). The participants chose Sunday, January 27th as the date for a
national student conference which originally was to
be held at the University of the District of Columbia.
I attended this conference, and I can tell you that no
one who was there will soon forget the events of that
day. For some reason, on the day of the meeting,
SYCPME was unable to obtain the needed space at
the University of the District of Columbia. As a
result, a hasty location change was made, and fliers
were rushed out announcing nearby Sidwell Friends
High School as the new site.
A flood of student activists, numbering in
excess of 1200, arrived at the high school. The halls
were crowded with literature tables set up by a wide
variety of political and activist organizations. Hundreds of students milled about, preparing for the
upcoming regional and plenary sessions. In hindsight, it is clear that the SYCPME steering committee
made some rather serious tactical errors the night
before, when the agenda for the day's meeting was
finalized. For some reason, it was decided that the
conference would begin the day with six separate
regional meetings. In all six meetings, a specific
proposal regarding the organizational structure of
SYCPME was introduced. All additional proposals
made during the regional sessions were collected as
"amendments" to this proposal. The conference
agenda called for all regional items to be presented
for approval during the afternoon plenary session.
The job of activating Stony Brook's campus
last semester met with mixed success. The everpresent apathy among students and faculty was only
mildly dented after Bush's offensive buildup following the November elections. Several rallies, a teachin, and a few additional events helped to widen the
Therefore, when the plenary session finally got
underway, well over 50 separate amendments were
in the hands of the facilitators. The result of all this
was that all the amendments, many of which were
quite important, were not even read before the
plenary session (much less voted on).
The plenary session itself was quite a
struggle. There was very little respect for the chair
or the floor, and in several instances the proceedings
degenerated into no-holds-barred shouting matches.
The process of voting was made very difficult by the
fact that the organizers had decided on a one-person
debate on campus. During a meeting of the Graduate Student Senate held on October 10, a resolution
condemning U.S. intervention was debated and
passed by a 6-5-3 vote. During the last week of the
semester, on December 19, a similar resolution was
introduced on the floor of the Polity Senate. It was
one-vote policy. In addition to the fact that this
created a huge disadvantage for students coming
from outside the D.C. area, the hundreds of hands
which had to be counted made precise tallies almost
impossible to obtain. The most important outcome of
the plenary session was a decision regarding the
Stony Brook and Beyond
structure of the organization. It was decided that a
new steering committee would be formed by representatives from all participating organizations. No
requirements were placed on participating organizations regarding campus affiliations. I will say
more about this later.
Organizational Excellence inChicago
The Windy City is the birthplace of the only
national student anti-war formation which is truly
independent of all other formations. (Note that
SYCPME is functionally an arm of the National
Campaign for Peace in the Middle East, and is
strongly influenced by the Progressive Student
Network.) During the pre-war phase of the Gulf
conflict, a network of Chicago area students pulled
themselves together, forming an organization called
Chicago Campuses Against the War (CCAW).
Among CCAW's accomplishments was the takeover
of the Federal Building in downtown Chicago, one of
the most dramatic efforts seen anywhere in the
country following the outbreak of war.
During the final weeks of 1990, the
organizers of CCAW decided to expand their
organization to form the National Network of
Campuses Against the War (NNCAW). Bill Stant
from Loyola University, Nancy Maclean from
Northwestern University, and Nick DeGenova from
the University of Chicago were the principle movers
and shakers behind this effort. (Note that Nick
DeGenova was the author of the open response to
George Bush's disgusting "letter to college students.")
The first action taken by NNCAW was the calling of
a planning meeting in Chicago, at Loyola University,
held on the weekend of January 19-20. What made
this two-day meeting special was the fact that it was
a delegated event, i.e., a single student from each
participating campus was given the right to vote
during the plenary sessions: one-campus, one-vote. I
have attended a substantial number of anti-war
meetings during the last six months, and none
compares with the level of cooperation and organization that I witnessed in Chicago during the
weekend.
Representatives from 60 colleges, universities, and high schools from all across the United
States and Canada were present. Registered observers from affiliated campus and non-campus
organizations were encouraged to participate as well.
The result was an extremely upbeat interaction
among student activists. While Robert's Rules of
Order were adhered to, there was no compulsive
effort to bog the meeting down with parliamentary
procedures. (It's not that hard to follow the usual
sequence: introduce a motion, discuss the motion, call
the question, and vote.) There was universal respect
for both the chair and the floor (not to mention the
agreed-upon agenda).
Space does not allow me to describe all of
the interesting information and ideas that flowed
from the meeting. Of greatest importance, however,
was the vote to approve a call for a National Student
Anti-War Conference to be held March 1-3 in
Chicago. Quoting from the subsequent leaflet,
"Plenary sessions will feature educationals by Middle
East specialists, talks by prominent anti-war activists,
debates with pro-war spokespeople and discussions
of strategies for building the movement. Workshops
will focus on in-depth discussions of specific issues as
well as sessions focusing on organizing skills. In
addition, representatives from campus anti-war
groups will meet to discuss how to build a dynamic,
democratic student movement." The key word here
is "democratic." The importance of democracy in the
movement cannot be over-emphasized. I will support
this statement at length in upcoming articles.
Meanwhile, if you are interested in obtaining more
information regarding any of the groups which I
have discussed, please contact the Stony Brook
Coalition for Peace in the Middle East. Until next
time, don't lose hope!
)
February 7, 1991
page 11
where to turn), are being shipped off to the desert.
It is hard to believe that the Bush Administration is
not only proceeding in accord with democratic
idealism but also for economic security when
military spending by the end of this year will gross at
least $130 billion. Major cities and suburbia will rot
if the war becomes protracted, massive casualties on
the Iraqi side will increase anti-Americanism - the
U.S. is helping Middle East fight the Middle East
(see Vietnam). Most likely Arabs will then fight
endlessly to liberate their cultural regions from
foreign oppression (i.e. Vietnam War). If foreign
troops began stationing their military forces in
America, Americans will surely resist. Our
misinformed troops in Saudi Arabia are facing
people who will never allow American force prevail
in their holy land. Take Great Britain for a prime
example of nationalism. When Nazi Germany stoneaged London with unrelenting bomb attacks, did the
British give up? No way!
During the Vietnam War, the media had a great
advantage because censorship was almost nil.
Reporters were free to roam. This, along with
protesting, are among the factors that helped led to a
withdrawal of American troops from Vietnam
(ceasefire). Today, this access is strictly limited by
military review. Why? Is war a sports game?
Bush and Hussein are both censoring the Gulf
War to manipulate citizens into their favour. These
two presidents are fighting a personal battle while
millions are paying with their lives for the greedy
objectives of these two instigators of war.
When Hussein mistreated American prisoners,
Bush was outraged and condemned Hussein as a
war criminal. American jets practically creamed
Iraq, destroying properties and innocent lives, but
this deed was considered heroic. How ironic.
Another segment of the WABC talk show led to
my conclusion that the host is a complete baboon. A
lawyer was on the line and specifically pointed out
the rightful act to assemble in free speech. The host
then frantically interrupted the caller whenever he
tried to make certain legitimate points, lashing out at
the caller for interrupting him - the host screamed,
"Will you stop interrupting me!!" And to undermine
the lawyer's intention, the host asked him several
irrelevant questions to obviously degrade him.
Questions concerning his age, the place where he'd
studied law and his practice were aimed. When the
attempt to humiliate failed (the lawyer is from
Harvar&), the host attacked him for having the gall
to arrogantly say that he's from Harvard (as if the
host didn't provoke the lawyer to answer that
question).
If this host and other people are so pro-war,
marching headstrong in defiance of protesters, why
don't he and the rest sign up? He should get up and
put on his uniform besides shouting war slogans.
This host went around hating protesters who were
deeply and truly concerned about the war just to
make up for his deprived life, an ego trip worthy of
my offal phlegm. Then probably after beating his
breast a bit, walked out of his comfy little studio and
into his car, then drove comfortably back home to his
televised participationand midnight snacks.
Yes, this WABC host has the right to speak freely
against protesters. And so, I also have the right to
speak freely against this imbecile. 1J
I
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HOW TO PLAY:
PERSIAN GOLF
by Scott Skinner
To play this game, you will need a
golf ball, a club, a quart of motor oil, a
package of raisins, a vine of grapes, and
a blindfold.
Unlike the traditional game of golf,
Persian Golf is played in a sandbox. To
set up the game: 1) pour the motor oil
over the sand; 2) sprinkle raisins over
the muck that forms; 3) position the golf
ball in the center of the box; 4) place
grapes anywhere outside of the sandbox.
The goal of Persian Golf is to putt the
ball out of the sandbox while blindfolded, using as few swings as possible.
If you do not succeed in clubbing the
ball out of the box by the third swing,
then you enter the stage of the game
known as "Vietnam." This phase of the
game requires that you eat the oilsoaked raisins and replace them with
the grapes. You are then allowed three
more blindfolded swings to whack the
ball out of the box. If you fail to
accomplish this within the allotted
number of swings then you lose: eat the
grapes and declare the game finished.
Unlike the traditional game of golf,
which requires spectators to be absolutely silent during game play, Persian
Golf encourages spectators to make as
much noise as possible. Much of the
game's excitement is a result of the
intense heckling on the sidelines. Bystanders often take sides, some supporting the golfer while others praising
the courage and conviction of the golf
ball. Most onlookers agree, however,
that the fruit should not be needlessly
wasted. To make this sentiment clear,
some spectators shout anti-golf slogans
such as, "no grape juice for golf." Riots
often ensue from vocal hostilities
between the pro-golf and anti-golf
factions. Witness any game of Persian
Golf, and you will understand why it is
often considered the supreme spectator
sport.
I
The Stony Brook Press page 12
I
Media coverage of Persian Golf also
contrasts sharply with that of the traditional game. Some critics believe that
the game receives too much attention,
while others insist that the present
coverage is inadequate. Anti-golf factions claim that the media is biased, and
that news reports tend to favor the
golfer. They claim, for instance, that
reporters glorify the high-tech golf
clubs while taking cheap shots at the
integrity of the golf ball. Pro-golf
factions disagree, pointing out that the
golfer is often falsely portrayed as a
fruit fiend and a golfpig.
Although I am no sports fan, I enjoy
Persian Golf because it is best played by
sports enthusiasts with no prior experience. The following uncensored tips
will help all neophytes maximize their
pleasure in the game. First, it is sometimes helpful to psyche yourself up for
the game before you begin to play. Try
talking to the raisins. Tell them that you
are confident, and that you will not let
the game progress into the "Vietnam"
stage. You may also want to talk to the
grapes as well. Tell them that they will
not have to enter the sandbox, and that
they have nothing to worry about.
Next, it may be advantageous to soothe
the sentiments of the anti-golf spectators by explaining to them that you
are playing a just game of golf. As for
the media, use it to your advantage. Let
them take pictures of you striking the
golf ball in victory, but censor cheap
shots of the consumation of the fruit.
Finally, be sure to call out "I whack"
before you swing so as to warn other
golfers nearby.
Everyone will enjoy playing,
watching, and even criticizing Persian
Golf. Indeed, lately it seems like everyone is an expert on game play and
strategy. Just remember that Persian
Golf is more fun when you use the
largest sandbox that you can find, and
the most fruit that you can throw in.,
%W;
_
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II
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WAR
continued from page 3
On July 19, Secretary of
Defense, Dick Cheney told reporters
during a press briefing that the United
States was committed to militarily
defend Kuwait if attacked. "Shortly
after Cheney's comments were reported
in the press, they were quickly repudiated by his spokesperson, Peter
Wilson, who explained that the secretary had spoken with 'some degree of
liberty'." (ibid) With this statement,
Cheney was committing the U.S. to war.
His rebuttal was another hint to
Hussein that the U.S. may not react.
At a July 25th meeting with
American ambassador April Glaspie in
Iraq, Hussein told her that he considered Kuwait was engaged in an
economic act of war against Iraq and
that it would justify an Iraqi military
response. Glaspie, faithfully representing American policy, declared: "We
have no opinion on the Arab-Arab
conflicts, like your border disagreements with Kuwait. I was in the American embassy in Kuwait during the late
'60s. The instructions we had during
that period were that we should express
no opinion on this issue and that the
issue is not associated with America..."
(ibid)
With this green light flashing in
front of him, Hussein gave the order to
invade Kuwait on August 2. Still, five
days earlier, the CIA reported to Bush
that massive troop movement at the
Iraq-Kuwait border were under way
and ready to attack (ibid). Bush rejected
this analysis.
Three days after the invasion,
the United States started to send troops
in Saudi Arabia.
The fight for freedom is hard
to swallow when one considers that
Kuwait was run by a ruling family, like
in Piudi Arabia. In societies where
women have no rights (they cannot
even drive cars) and in the case of Saudi
Arabia, where slavery was only
recently abolished [in 1962] (NYT,
10/31/90), what is the rule of law we
are talking about?
The fight for democracy in the
present war is an anachronism and it
has to be downplayed. A Wall Street
Journal article (10/8/90) took an approving look at Gulf monarchies and
concluded that democracy might not
only be bad for people in the region but
"could work against U.S. interests." The
article quoted a State Department
official: "You can't expect democracy to
produce toadies to the U.S."
Is
I
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Shift in U.S. military strategy
The Bush administration has
been able to gain support for the troop
deployment when it started to invoke
the military capability of Saddam
Hussein. Although Israel already possesses 200 nuclear warheads (Le MD,
1/91, and VV, 1/22/91), the potential
threat that Iraq may pose when it would
have the Bomb would be a source of
instability.
The economic sanctions imposed against Iraq after its invasion
were among the toughest and the most
complete ever imposed against a
country. (InternationalHerald Tribune,
12/11/90) Given the very high importdependency of the Iraqi economy,
sanctions could have worked but we
will never know. A problem with
The Fight For Democracy
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terrorist state" three months earlier,
joins the coalition to fight for democracy. It simply gains a respect-ability
that it did not have. What about China
which is cracking down on all source of
dissents after last year Tianamen
square massacre? The United States
will not criticize it because it cannot
afford to lose a supporting member at
the United Nations Security Council.
And what of the USSR that is renewing
repressive tactics in the Baltic? It is
unfortunate, but the support for the free
ride of the United States in the Middle
East has a price.
Soon after the Iraqi Invasion of
Kuwait, Bush said: "Our jobs, our way
of life, our own freedom and the
freedom of friendly countries around
the world will suffer if control of the
world's great oil reserves falls into the
hands of Saddam Hussein." (NYT,
11/12/90) This amounts to suggesting a
modern day spice war, a defense of
crucial economic interest. The administration then changed its official
language and Bush returned to the
image of America as the defender of
freedom. Oil was a factor, but not the
only one. (ibid)
when he said this week, "The best is yet
to come."
The swiftness of the American
deployment is a direct consequence of
the shift of strategy of the Pentagon.
With the decrease of the Warsaw Pact
danger in Europe, the interests of the
armed forces shifted to the new power
in the third world such as Syria and
Iraq.
In a report from the U.S.
Commission of Integrated Long Term
Strategy, "Discriminate Deterrence,
1988," it is said that in the upcoming
years many countries will possess
armaments that will make difficult any
intervention in regional war. This is a
theme that was further developed by
the President in a speech given at the
Coast Guard Academy in New London,
CT, May 24, 1989. Bush declared that
many countries were getting equipped
with destructive arms and that the
United States should be ready to go
against the aggressive ambitions of
these renegade regimes. (Le MD, 1/91)
In February 1990, Dick
Cheney, approved a document facing
the rules for defense policy during the
1992-1997 period where the focus is put
on middle intensity conflict, as opposed
to low intensity conflicts, which are
wars against guerilla groups and a
large intensity conflict, a full war
against an enemy like the USSR for
example. The middle intensity conflict
doctrine was not completed in August
1990, but was sufficiently advanced to
,allow a huge transport of troops to the
Middle East.
In May 1990, General A.M
Gray of the Marine Corps declared that
if the United States still wants to be a
superpower, they must conserve free
access to foreign markets and "necessary resources needed by our industries." (Le MD, 1/91) To fight these
new enemies the Pentagon will need a
broad inventory of arms and equipment
to facilitate a prompt and diversified
response. In a context of budgetary
crises, it would be hard to justify, unless
a war erupts...
The present conflict is clearly
an American affair. With the exception
of England and France, European
nations have token forces. In Europe,
%C%1tu
uyyZIk1C
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I
The American War
The countries that have
supported the course of actions
proposed by the U.S. have gained many
dividends. It is very unlikely that a
counry 11,ve y
I I III
unblli~ .
Oil, The Vital Link
According to Mr. Van Dyk, a
Democratic analyst of economical and
political events, "we are engaged only
because of oil, as we should be." "...You
can be sure we wouldn't have a platoon
on the Kuwaiti frontier if the resource in
the region was guano." (NYT, 11/12/90)
Other analysts go even further.
The strategic control of the Gulf is a
question of the vital interests of the
United States. it has to import from this
region 400 million tons of oil (500 to 600
million in the near future). "The actual
crisis shows what is unacceptable in
international oil politics: the American
pretension to use oil as an arm of
domination in controlling the Gulf and
then the price and levels of production,.." (Le Monde Diplomatique,
12/90)
economic sanctions is that they did not
address the military capability of Iraq.
When George Bush declared in
his televised speech of January 16,
1991, that "the world could no longer
wait", he recited many reasons to start a
war. Waiting any longer could have
fragmented the coalition, discussions
about the Palestinian issue could not
have been eternally postponed, the
American public was getting impatient
with a prolonged stay in the desert
(even though it is happening), and not
the least, the climatic conditions were
the best for an attack.
The present war is a unique
opportunity for the American military
to confront the modern Iraqi army and
finally test U.S. sophisticated weaponry.
As an American general was saying,
"There is nothing like the real thing."
General
Schwarzkoff
went
one
r
n'iortn
sc
t hic
wsr
as
reminiscent of the first World War. A
war that started because of the stubbornness of the belligerent in refusing to
accept a negotiated settlement. It is not
even clear that the withdrawal of the
Iraqi army from Kuwait would stop the
war.
The United States will finally
obtain a strong foothold in Saudi
Arabia, a privilege which has always
been denied before. U.S. troops are
there to stay. They will fulfil military
and economic goals. Our militaryindustrial complex (an expression introduced by Eisenhower) will not suffer
the deep cuts that a peace economy
requires.
This war could have been
avoided if many short-sighted motives
had not led American foreign policy.
Still, this war was planned and the U.S.
military was ready. There was no point
in finding a negotiated solution. A war
offers so many advantages. 1
If
further
February 7, 1991
page 13
b
Let's Show The Pride
We Have In Our Troops!
Wednesday, February 13th
Campus Life Time Hour 12:40-2PM
Fine Arts Plaza (outside)
Play
-jSI
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Sponsored by
Commuter Student Association
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Learn toout tLan Island's
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.esl a
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VIheer you're Ey,or jf
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infriesyotI,
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me
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("3g,
4ARE WELcOMn!
Refre:m
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The Stony Brook Press page 14
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If you don't have much time to commit to a
v rst spnort
A but still want to be active,
vWhen come to the first Rugby Club
meeting on Feb 13th at 1:00 (during
.ampus Life Time).
,Where Non-Smokers Lounge, 2nd
Floor Union
0Ater
'~"
'-
No experience necessary to play
1rl•J•J1S
P
II
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JLtCltiUL
Join one of the fastest growing
collegiate sports.
Students/Faculty/Speakers
Followed by a "hands across campus'
to salute our troops!
Please Note:
This is not an anti-war
or pro-war demonstration this rally isto encourage
the spirits of our troops
serving in the Persian Gulf.
u
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a"7Tby
iOt]~r
I
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~II
Driving Toward
Energy Independence
by Scott Skinner
You would think that the war in the
Mid-East would serve as a catalyst to
make energy indepen-dence our
primary domestic policy. Think again.
If anything, the conflict is a guarantee
that petrol-powered automobiles will be
the mainstay for many years to come.
But what are the alternatives? While
the U.S. spends money researching
high-tech weaponry, other nations are
cashing in on high-tech vehicles. For
years, dedicated engineers and environmentalists have worked on vehicle
technologies that would free us from
the shackles of oil dependence. Alternative fuels are widely available and
are already being utilized by other
nations. Who is to blame for our lack of
commitment? Is it the government,
which has done little to support
research in the field of alternative fuels?
Is it the entrepreneurs, who cower at the
thought of taking the necessary risks by
producing, publicizing, and pushing
alternative vehicles over conventional
ones? Is it the consumers, who refuse to
deal with the initial inconvenience that
is necessary for the transition to
alternative fuels? Or is the new technology simply not up to par with the
conventional vehicle, a machine that
has remained fundamentally the same
for nearly a century. Henry Ford
would be proud to know that, after all
this time, we still haven't come up with
anything better than the internal combustion engine. Or have we?
gouging, and manipulate the market in
ways that we can only begin to imagine.
Six of the Seven Sisters occupy the top
13 slots on the Fortune 500. Exxon is
number three, behind Ford Motor and
General Motors (makers of gasoline
vehicles). Incidentally, why is it that we
pay more for unleaded gasoline than
for leaded when gas is naturally
unleaded? In essence, we are paying
the Seven Sisters to NOT put lead into
our gas (read: extortion). Internationally, our country is dependent
upon unstable foreign nations for oil.
Bush has admitted that oil is one of the
reasons why we are currently at war
(read his open letter). Oil dependency
resulted in President Carter's economic
problems in the 1970's, just as it is now
resulting in Bush's economic problems
(oil imports account for half of our
internal combustion engine of your
average car. EV's do not consume
power while waiting for traffic lights or
sitting in traffic jams. EVs are considered environmentally safe, as they
produce no exhaust gases at all.
General Motor's [Environmental]
Impact is the latest in EV technology.
The Impact is powered by lead-acid
batteries, has a 120 mile range between
charges, and can accelerate from 0 to 60
mph in 8 seconds, with a top cruising
speed of 55 mph. Other EV's.offer
regenerative braking, a method of
producing electricity to top off the
batteries whenever the brakes are
applied. Future EV's will draw power
directly from the road via a process of
magnetic induction. Hybrid vehicles are
also available, offering an internal
combustion engine as a backup.
ADVANTAGES: Of these three
alternative fuels, methanol (made from
methane) appears to be the most
promising. Shortage is no problem.
Consider that the average cow belches
up to 400 liters of methane a day, and
our national herd numbers approximately 10.5 million. The result is 4.2
billion liters of methane a year, belching
out into the atmosphere, waiting for
some bright entrepreneur to harness its
potential. The transition from gasoline
to methanol will be painless as conventional vehicles run well on the gas with
little modification. Methanol is a relatively clean fuel compared to gasoline,
and is labelled a 'low-polluting fuel" for
its lower carbon content. The result is
that consumers can continue to enjoy
the advantages of conventional vehicles
without sacrificing the environment.
DISADVANTAGES: The performance
of EV's leaves much to be desired. Even
the Impact, toted as the best electric
vehicle to date, does not compare in
performance with even a modest gasoline vehicle. The batteries need from six
to eight hours of charging time,
compared with the five minute fill-up
time of a conventional vehicle. In
addition, the batteries must be replaced
after about 20,000 miles, and are NOT
environmentally safe when disposed of.
All commercial EV's are currently more
expensive to buy than conventional
vehicles, offering various levels of poky
I
performance and inconvenience.
hesitate to wonder what happens when
my EV breaks down.
GASOLINE
DESCRIPTION: Composed primarily
of alkanes (hexane, heptane, and
octane), gasoline is a derivative of
petroleum produced in oil refineries.
Commercial gasoline blends contain
additional additives such as detergents,
dyes (for identification), surfectants (to
reduce carburetor corrosion), and
tetraethyl lead, although lead is being
phased out for environmental reasons.
ADVANTAGES: Vehicles fueled with
gasoline enjoy the colossal advantage of
being thoroughly established in the U.S.
Vast net-works of fuel and service
stations dot the country (Bush's thousand points of light). Gasoline also
provides a greater available energy
content than ethanol, methanol, and
most other fuels. "Clean" reformulated
gasoline promises to deliver more mileage per gallon while being easier on the
environment. Consumers may choose
from an overwhelming number of
models, including imports and exports,
at prices that range across the entire
economic spectrum.
DISADVANTAGES: Nationally, consumers are at the mercy of the top
seven oil companies (the Seven Sisters)
who do not appear to be affected by the
"law" of supply and demand. They
engage in price fixing and price
HYDROGEN
i"'l
trade deficit). Environmentally, gasoline vehicles are a nightmare. Catalytic
converters do little to clean exhaust,
although further research in this area is
Smog-laden Los
being pursued.
Angeles is a good example of what
happens when this exhaust hits the
environment. Emissions include, but
are not limited to, unburnt hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen oxides. In addition, gasoline
vehicles are the third largest producer
of carbon dioxide, the gas that has a bad
rep for contributing to the destruction of
the ozone layer threatening catastrophic
climate change (the green house effect).
ETHANOL,
METHANOL, GASOHOL
DESCRIPTION: Ethanol is grain
alcohol, the fuel that Stony Brook
students are most familiar with, as they
consume it in mass quantities. Methanol is wood alcohol, the stuff they tell
you not to confuse with grain alcohol
because it is poisonous. Gasohol is a
mixture of gasoline and alcohol (ethanol
or methanol).
u' ,vri
DISADVANTAGES: Methanol does
not contain as much available energy
content as gasoline, so vehicles will need
to use nearly twice as much of it,
resulting in larger fuel tanks and other
related problems. In addition, methanolpowered cars can be difficult to start in
cold temperatures. The carbon-dioxide
exhaust may possibly contribute to
global warming.
ELECTRICITY
DESCRIPTION: Recharcheable batteries are the principle source of
electricity, although other sources
include fuel cells and solar panels. The
electricity needed to recharge batteries
is produced by burning fossil fuels (coal,
oil, or natural gas) in electric power
plants such as LILCO.
ADVANTAGES: EV's (electric vehicles) are far more efficient than their
petrol-powered counterparts. Although
power plants are the largest producers
of carbon dioxide, it is still more efficient
to burn fuel in the external combustion
u.
fiie
engine
o
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rat
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td1h
;.i
th
DESCRIPTION: This highly explosive
gas can be used in two ways. First is to
burn the fuel, using its explosive power
to drive pistons much like a conventional internal combustion engine. The
second approach is to use fuel cells,
which combine hydrcg n with oxygen
in order to produce electricity. Both
methods produce water as a byproduct.
ADVANTAGES: The first method will
offer performance equivalent to conventional vehicles, while the second
method will allow EV's to obtain fuel
simply by replacing old fuel cells with
new ones. The cells are environmentally
safe, unlike the lead-acid batteries of the
Impact. Both methods produce only
water as output, and are therefore the
cleanest of all clean cars.
DISADVANTAGES: Hydrogen is as
dangerous as TNT, and storing
sufficient amounts safely in a vehicle is
not practical at this time. The vehicles
are extremely expensive, and don't
expect service and repair from your
local mechanic. Fossil fuels may still
have to be burned in factories in order
to produce the hydrogen, so carbon
dioxide may still be released into the
atmosphere.
j
'Xp.
e
February 7, 1991
page 15
I
I
11(.AIIIUN
A Still, Small Voice k4
by Edward DeFelippis
It was the first real September
day. The heat of the summer had
almost completely worn off,
and
though the sky was clear and the sun
was shining, it was comfortably cool
and breezy. It was the kind of day noone could ignore. Not the panic stricken
upperclassmen who were racing about
trying to figure out which classes they
were registered in and which classes
they needed to add. Not the wide-eyed,
disoriented freshmen who could be seen
running this way and that, in and out of
buildings, trying in vain to locate their
English or Math or History classes. Not
even the instructors, harried by their
apocryphal class rosters, sign-in sheets,
sign-out sheets, and last minute
classroom changes, could disregard the
gently rustling leaves or the soft green
grass or the lush new flower gardens
planted all along the academic mall. No
matter what his or her first-day emergency was, every person on campus at
least took a minute to look about himself
and just enjoy what was there.
It was indeed a beautiful day.
Bob sat out in the fresh air
eating his lunch with a young man from
his psychology class.
Everything
seemed to be working very well. The
two had been talking for about half an
hour now, and so far, they were getting
along perfectly. Bob even liked the
young man. He found him easy to talk
to. The young man seemed smart, but
not threateningly so, which Bob found
reassuring.
-Bob, you made this lunch
date for a reason.
An embarrassed tension gripped Bob's stomach as he realized that
there was work yet to be done. He was
a little uncomfortable about mentioning
it now. When the young man had come
up to him after Psychology class that
morning, and started talking to him,
Bob became very excited at the
opportunity. But now, he wished he
could just get to know the young man
and be friends. Grudgingly, he resolved
himself to steering the conversation
over.
The two had been talking about
their high schools, and Bob's mind
began working fast to see what he could
make out of that.
"Do any of your high school
friends go to school here?" Bob asked.
"Oh, yeah," said the young
man, "A few of them go here now. One
of th, girls in Psych went to high school
with me, and I know a couple of the
guys in my Theatre class. One of them I
know from high school, and the other
one went to the same church as my
parents."
-Now, Bob! Now's your
chance!
Bob was relieved that it came
this easily, and he jumped right into it.
"So, do you go to church often?" he
asked.
The young man seemed
surprised at the sudden change in
subject. Still, the conversation lost none
of its congeniality. The young man
answered casually and Bob felt a little
more at ease.
The Stony Brook Press
"Not really," the young man
said. "Not anymore. I mean, sometimes
I go with my parents, maybe, like if I'm
home for the weekend and they decide
to go."
"But you're not really a
churchgoing person," Bob said.
"No, not really. Does that
interest you much?"
"Actually, it does."
"Religious studies major?" the
young man asked.
"Well, no...uh...why don't I
show you."
"Show me?" the young man
said. Bob noticed the first signs of
uneasiness in the young man's manner
since the conversation started. He tried
to push this feeling out of his mind and
get it all overwith.
"I wonder if you've ever seen
this before," Bob said.
-He hasn't seen it before,
Bob.
The young man examined the
little yellow booklet Bob had handed
him the cover said, "The Four Spiritual
Laws." The man examined the booklet
for a second and then said,
"Hmmm...No, I don't think I have,
actually. What is it?"
'Well, why don't I go through it
with you?" Bob took the booklet and,
holding it so that the young man could
read it, opened it to the first page.
-Not bad, Bob. Not the way
we planned it, but it still might
work.
As soon as the young man saw
the words Jesus Christ on the first page
of the booklet, his curiosity seemed to
melt away. "Oh, I'm not very religious,"
he said, getting back to his lunch.
-He's
confused,
Bob.
Explain it to him.
"Actually," Bob said with a
sudden sparkle, "I'm not very religious,
either."
-Good going, Bob.
Very
clever.
The young man looked
puzzled. "What do you mean," he said.
"I mean, that's a Born-again Christian
Book, isn't it?"
'"Well, yes, it is."
-NO! IT ISN'T!!! Never say
"Born-Again Christian!" Never!
Never!
Bob winced. He'd made an
obvious mistake, but he knew he had to
keep going and salvage the conversation somehow. "But...uh..actually...
what I meant was...it's not a religion to
me. It's more of a relationship, a
relationship with God. It's kind of a way
of life."
"I...don't quite follow," said the
young man.
- Tell him your story now,
Bob.
"Well, before I came to Christ..."
-No! Wrong phrase! Don't
use cliches!
"...Uh...that is, before I became a
Christian...I really thought my life was
going nowhere. At one point, I had
actually made up my mind to commit
suicide."
Bob noticed that this didn't
seem to have the usual shock value with
the young man. "Wow," the young man
page 16
said, "That's pretty wild. What happened?"
- He's going for it, Bob.
Don't lose him.
"You see, one night, I was
sitting in my living room at home, and
I'd been dangerously depressed over
the past few days. As I sat there, I
decided that I would kill myself. But
here's the amazing part. Just as I was
thinking about that, I heard a man on.
television say 'Suicide is not the
answer." The television just happened
to be on when I sat down, and there was
a religious program on. The man on the
program was giving a message about
suicide. He was saying that no matter
how bad I thought my problems were,
Jesus Christ would make my life whole
again and give me the strength to go on
living."
"That is something," said the
young man.
-This isn't going well, Bob.
Bob could see that the young
man was uncomfortable, and trying
respectfully to sound impressed. Now
he felt his mind go blank in panic. Bob
could think of nothing else to do. He
channeled all his effort into getting the
words out.
"Then he told me that God
loved me very much, and He had a
perfect plan for my life. But because of
my sins, I was separated from God, and
so I couldn't have the kind of
relationship with him that He wanted.
But God did something about that. He
sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to pay the
price for my sins by dying on the cross.
And now, my sins would be forgiven if
only I asked God into my life and
accepted Him. Right then and there, I
knew I wanted to go on living."
"That's a really wild coincidence - that guy talking about suicide
right when you were thinking about it."
"That was God's work, and it
saved my life."
"That's really interesting, Bob,"
the young man said. "I mean, I've
never met any Born-Again Christians
before. At least none that I could really
talk to. You're a lot different."
continued on page 18
STAGE
l~:\"1
by Captain America
Director Kevin Crowe and his
five actors brought the Fanny Brice
Theater to life last weekend with their
interpretation of Joe Pintauro's ten
short plays that fit under the title of
DIRTY TALK. Within this world of
homosexuals, flashing Madonnas, dancing nuns, gay priests, and other various
characters (gee, sounds like our world,
doesn't it?), the play brings out an
important message: "We all have
feelings." Life is bizarre - what can we
say?
The actors, David Gill, Beverly
Longo, Megan Martin, Andrew Strand,
and Jeff Tusch, did an outstanding job.
Each person went through extreme
changes as they transformed right on
the stage to become a different character in another piece. Kevin Crowe
w
o Me
took the liberty of using some characters more than once so that the
performance, as a whole, was tied together.
The Fanny Brice Theater is
located in Roosevelt Quad. It is run by
two students, Joe Ryan and Dan
Berberich. The Theater gives everybody the chance to speak out, speak up,
and spread the word (whatever that
may be). This fine performance of
DIRTY TALK was only the beginning
of the fine line-up that the Fannie Brice
Theater has in store for this spring
semester.
COMING UP AT THE
FANNIE BRICE THEATER: We're
All In This Together (an open microphone poetry/performance), hosted by
Billy Capozzi. Also upcoming, The
Vicious Beatnics.
VIN YL
Run
Westy
Run
Green Cat Island
Twin/Tone
The cover art of Run Westy Run's
third album, featuring a painting of
Satan dressed in an American flag suit
with his penis hanging out, has failed to
draw flak from the religious right so far.
A possible reason is that the painting by
Kevin Johnson depicts the infernal one
as having a very small member.
A real treat is in store once you
get past Satan's schlong and into the
record. Green Cat Island continues
the Westy's relationship with REM
guitarist Pete Buck. Buck, who has
worked with the band since their demo
days, has again been enlisted as producer and has done a superlative job.
The music reminds me of New
York's Raging Slab in that both bands
feature meaty, earnest rock and roll
riffs with a bit of twang and the
occasional tip of the hat to metal. Run
Westy Run give themselves a wide
palate to work with and they use it to
full effect. The tunes range from "Kiss
the Night," a slow ballad with pretty
vocal harmonies and slide guitar, to
"Could Ya Would Ya," a powerful
number based on a doomy, chromatic
metal riff.
"Get On" sounds like a Danzig
tune and features lines like "A Halloween in Memphis felt like outerspace"
that could have been written by Glenn
himself. "Whada" is a Southern rock/
funk workout: Lynyrd Skynyrd meets
the Red Hot Chili Peppers. "Last
Swallow" is a modern day sea chanty
that makes me want to wear an
eyepatch and raise the skull and crossbones.
Singer Kirk Justin's vocals
often remind me of Jim Carroll's in that
they both share a similar "seen it all"
affect and a snag/speak delivery. The
similarities are most apparent when
Kirk intones neo-beat lines like "probabilities come at different volosities [sic] /
Knowledge of the unobserved lies in
death and sleep / and desire drives all
things to constant proliferation."
The rest of the album isn't as
lyrically obtuse, in fact Green Cat
Island has some of the most intriguing
lyrics that I've heard in a long while.
You can .spend a few hours coming up
with interpretations of what these songs
are about, much like you can with a
good Dylan album. I had listened to the
opening cut, "Johnny John," several
times, caught just by the strength of the
chorus. On the surface the song is about
a young male prostitute on the street,
but a second, hidden message is
included in the lyrics. The song is also
about the legendary Johnny Thunders.
The clues are sly, one line goes, "This is
insane home so alone." So Alone is the
title of a 1978 album by Thunders.
Another line in the song is, "Dead boys
share stories of you." This reference is a
little more veiled. The late Stiv Bators,
former singer of the Dead Boys, recorded a song titled "Li'l Boys Play With
Dolls" when he was with the Lords of
the New Church. The song was a
tribute to Thunders' seminal early
seventies band, the New York Dolls.
The next track on Green Cat Island,
"Electrick Co.," mentions the New York
Dolls and validates this interpretation.
The Westy's incorporation of a
variety of styles has drawn fire in the
past. Critics have accused them of
musical schizophrenia, but here there is
a cohesivness, a thread, that holds it all
together. If you desire a refreshing
listening experience Green Cat Island
is recommended. W)
-Scott Warmuth
insides / t's driving you insane."
"Gilligan" is a tale about the Skipper's
little buddy gone homicidal. The song
has only five lines, "I wear a white hat /
I wear a red shirt / They all think I'm
stupid / One day I'll kill them / I am
Gilligan," and after hearing it you will
never look at Bob Denver the same way
again. "Hellshaft" is a twisted ballad
with background vocals reminiscent of
the Shangrilas' "Leader of the Pack."
The tape is a preview of their
upcoming LP scheduled to be released
on Skyclad later this year. The album is
promised to include other show stoppers from the Iron Prostate live set
including "Rock & Roll Nursing Home"
and "Hell Toupee."
Tabb has survived stints with
Letch Patrol and The False Prophets.
The band also features Scot Weiss,
formerly of Ed Gein's Car, on vocals
and Steve Wishnia, co-founder of The
False Prophets. For more info write to
Iron Prostate c/o George Tabb, 45
Carmine St. #1-B, N.Y., N.Y. 10014.
-Scott Warmuth
FRONT 242
scene. One can hear the classic Front
242 sound in "Rhythm of Fire,"
"Moldavia," "The Untold" and "Soul
Manager" (hint: "Soul Manager" is
much longer than the reported 5:07).
The speeds of the tracks range from 85
beats per minute all the way up to 150
bpm, with seven of the ten tracks in the
100-120 bpm range, making the album
an excellent choice for alternative dance
DJs.
Front 242's lyrics are, as usual,
about off-beat subjects and presented in
their rapid-fire, vacillating, fitful manner. In the music can be heard a
labyrinth of short, self-created samples
and sound effects, often making the
background music comparable to the
soundtrack for a nightmare.
Unlike past Front 242 releases,
Tyranny For You is readily available on
Front By Front (Wax Trax! Records),
vinyl, cassette, and aluminum (compact
disc). An added bonus is that this album
was mastered in a completely digital
format (DDD). The disc was engineered by Sony Music, so it lacks the
major engineering and timing errors
experienced on older CBS/Epic compact
discs.
the band went through some minor
changes, although retaining their
driving style of "get-up-and-twitch"
music.
The album's first single,
"Tragedy For You," has already made
somewhat of a splash on the alternative
material for anyone new to Front 242,
and required listening for any fans of
the band. If one has the means, the disc
is well worth the price; the damage is
perfect for the precision and clarity of a
fully digital format. W
by Wayne Myer
Front 242 is back on the front
lines! Their new album, Tyranny For
You (Epic), has recently hit the record
stores. After Front 242's last effort,
gsn~-----
-
II
suggested
is
Tyranny For You
ssas~iar-------·~
I
*
**-,,
I
°
.•.,.
FI
•r%;.
Iron
Prostate
i-v
Cassette Demo
"You'll like it, it's punk rock,"
said guitarist George Tabb as he
handed me Iron Prostate's five song
cassette. He was right.
The tape is a refreshing return
to an old punk rock sound. The song
writing is solid with a strong sense of
humor. With locomotive sounding
drums and Mosrite guitars churning
out a familiar Marshall grind the most
obvious comparison is the Ramones.
The band lays out their simple
philosophy, "I'm getting older now /
And I ain't got nothing to do / Except to
be in a band / With a bunch of aging
Jews," in "Iron Prostate." "Pumpkinhead" is literally about someone with a
jack o'lantern for a cranium and has
lines like "You've got a candle burning /
Inside your brain / It's cooking out your
Blake
Babies
Sunburn
Mammoth
This album makes me cringe,
not like a G.G. Allin release, but in a
benign way. The Blake Babies play
poppy music with jangly guitars. The
songs appear to have been written by a
random cut and paste method. Verses
and choruses don't match stylistically
and instrumental sections seem out of
place. The production is beyond clean,
it's antiseptic. This is music for the boy
in the plastic bubble, not rock and roll
fans. The trio seem overly aware of
themselves and their arrangements are
meticulously overworked. Squeezed
dry and devoid of emotion, Sunburn is
a very tedious listen.
-Scott Warmuth
February 7, 1991
page 17
IIIý
FICTION
No, Lord. That's not what I
said.
continued from page 16
-Bob, I chose you. You have
a
special
job to do here. You are my
- Don't let him change the
spokesman to the people. It is
subject - keep going!
"How does this all sound to through you that I am trying to
spread the good news of Jesus
you?" Bob asked.
The young man looked puzzled Christ to the people.
Please, Lord...
again. "What do you mean?"
-Bob, you must speak my
"How do you feel about Jesus
Word to the people without
dying for your sins?"
hesitation and without compromise.
"Well..uh...that's
But, Lord...they don't want to
interesting...that's just not really my
hear
it.
They
don't like to hear it. I try to
thing, you know?"
make it sound good, but they just don't...
-You're losing him, Bob. He
-I've told you how to say it!
needs Jesus! Don't let him go!
I've
told
you a hundred times.
Bob hated this part the most,
and the young man's polite disinterest You're not trusting me! How do
upset him even more. He never knew you ever expect to make it to my
how to deal with that. Bob felt as if he Kingdom if you don't trust me?
Lord, I have work to do at
were plowing through barbed wire
school,
too.
I have class work to do, and
now. He just wanted to finish this
conversation and get out of there. I just don't have that much time to
spend with...
"What about it don't you understand?"
- MY WORK
COMES
"Well, it's not that, really," said
FIRST! Bob, you must always
the young man.
He had become
defensive. Bob's question had obviously remember that! I brought you to
this school to teach my Word and to
offended him. "I'm just not...you know...
a religious-type person. I mean, that's save people's souls. Don't worry
cool that you believe all that. I've just about anything else. I'll help you
with schoolwork, if you'll just have
never really been into it."
faith in me. But remember, you are
-Don't give up, Bob!
Bob couldn't go any further. a Christian first and a student
He knew it was over, and he had failed. second.
Yes, Lord.
"Well, think about it, okay?" Bob said.
Bob opened the knapsack lying
"I'd really like to talk to you some more
next
to
him
on the bench. He pulled out
about this."
his
Bible,
an
old but well-cared for New
"We don't really have to talk
about it," said the young man, gathering International Version with a blue cover.
up the tattered remains of his lunch. "I The pages fell open to the Gospel of
Matthew. Bob read silently.
mean, religion's just not my thing."
"All authority in Heaven
"Sure," said Bob, "That's okay."
and
on
earth has been given to me.
"I'll see you in class tomorrow,"
Therefore go and make disciples of
said the young man.
all nations, baptizing them in the
"See you then. Take care."
name of the Father and of the Son
-You failed, Bob.
and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching
I know, Lord.
them to obey everything I have
-Bob, I've been training you
for this. You just aren't trusting commanded you. And Surely I am
with you always, to the very end of
me.
the age."
But Lord, I...
Bob took a deep breath. He
-But nothing, Bob! I've sent
closed
his
eyes and he closed the Bible,
you here to do my work, and all
clutching
it
tightly in his trembling fist.
you've done is let me down.
"Thank you, Lord," Bob said.
Lord...I'm trying! It's difficult.'
Very difficult. You made me the way I "Thankyou for being with me."
am. You know I get embarrassed
sometimes when I talk about...
-Are you saying you're
ashamed of me, Bob?
-
IVIEWPOINT
continued from page 4
democratic government,
what the
government thinks is the "correct"
government, then it is hypocritical of
you to complain that Kuwait and Saudi
Arabia are not democratic.
I agree that oil is a reason for
the war. Unfortunately, this country is
dependant on foreign oil. Therefore, it
is in our best interests for those foreign
oil supplies to be sold in a fair market.
Remember the oil embargoes of the
1970's? Remember the long lines at the
gas stations? Even then you could only
get gas if you had a license plate. Yes,
afterwards the country should have
found better energy policies (but then
you have all these nuclear energy
protests), but until then, our countries
existence depends in part on foreign oil.
Before August 2, 1990, we were good
customers for Saudi Arabia, Kuwait,
and Iraq. Though OPEC was tough,
we could survive.
Hussein invaded Kuwait on
the pretense of pro-Arabism. That is
just propaganda. In reality, he invaded
Kuwait for oil. Hussein wanted a high
price for oil but Kuwait wanted a low
price. Iraq sent troops to the Kuwaiti
border. OPEC had an energy meeting.
Kuwait agreed to a compromise, Iraq
agreed that the troops would leave. The
troops left, alright, right into Kuwait.
Then, after another emergency OPEC
meeting, Iraq agreed to leave two days
later, yet another lie. Then the Arab
league stepped in. Iraq was still in
Kuwait. The U.S., after being asked by
Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to help (YES,
.THEY ASKED US!), worried about the
oil supply, joined in the negotiations,
getting the U.N. involved. The U.N.
talked with Iraq separately from the
U.S. Nothing. France tried. Belgium
tried. The U.S. tried a last ditch effort.
Hussein refused to budge. War was the
only solution left. Even with sanctions,
Hussein would not leave Kuwait.
Now let's look at Iraq. Iraq,
under Hussein, invaded Iran. During
that war he gassed his own citizens.
Now, it's also true that those citizens
wanted independence from Iraq and
rebelled. Now, far be it from me to link
Israel to the situation, but aren't the
Palestinians rebelling against Israeli
authority? If you condemn Israel for
killing Palestinians, you must condemn
Iraq for killing the Kurds. After making
peace, he attacked a country who
financed him in his war with Iran.
Saudi Arabia and Kuwait are not
democratic countries, but at least they
helped provide a fair market for the oil.
Having Hussein control a large portion
of foreign oil is definitely detrimental to
the U.S. since Hussein would not
provide a fair market, and we would
have more embargo-like times.
Now let's look at the U.S.
Didn't the U.S. support Hussein in his
war with Iran? Yes, because Iran was,
let's say, rather an unfriendly country
since we had recently got back our
citizens after 444 days of captivity. For
the sake of argument, let's say that
Hussein was our friend? How can we
fight him now? Easily.
Let's say you have a friend,
you also own a business that requires
supplies from other businesses. Now
let's say your friend tries a hostile
takeover of company A. You don't like
what he did, but you support him
because he is a friend. Say you are
doing business with company B. You
do much business with B. Your friend
does a hostile takeover because he
wants to charge high prices, even for
you. Would you still be that person's
friend? Wouldn't you try to stop him?
Especially after he refuses your request
to stop? Friends don't hurt each other.
So, big deal? What right do we
have to fight for our interests in foreign
countries? Let them settle their own
problems, right? O.K., but we then
must follow this isolationist policy in all
cases. We cannot complain about China
killing students. We cannot boycott
Coke because it sells in South Africa.
We cannot take part in the U.N. We
cannot give foreign aid to poor
countries. We cannot export food to a
starving nation.
O.K., if we must fight Iraq,
shouldn't we fight South Africa? Sure,
but then youll complain the U.S. is an
aggressive imperialistic nation, which
you say anyway, and we're not even
fighting every country that doesn't
agree with us. I agree we should not
fight wars, but when all other options
have failed,
what are we to do,
appeasement? Yeah, all Hussein wants
is Kuwait, and Hitler just wanted the
Sudetenland.
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.The.Stony Brook Press.. page 18
continued from page 19
influenced by her own experiences with
pregnancy and those of women in
general, who often in our society bear
the brunt of child rearing. "There is no
physical experience that men have that
compares to childbirth ... this world
needs more fathering" she says,
referring to the lack of participation
many fathers have in regards to
childbirth and rearing.
Her paintings have been
featured at the Cork gallery at Lincoln
Center, as well as an assortment of
other galleries and local Public
Libraries. Her work has been labelled
as
being
blasphemous
and
pornographic, and she has been
accused of hating being a woman. But
upon meeting her one gets the
impression of a physically attractive,
young, insightful artist, who feels for
her fellow women and wishes for a race
of more protected, technologically, and
socially complete beings, coexisting
with their male counterparts. She
postulates that even war could be
stopped as she senses a connection in
that "women bleed so men draw blood,"
a theory which advocates reversible
female circumsicion, in which PMS is a
vestige and pregnancy is medically
supervised and technologically
gestated.
Her lovely and enlightening
works will be featured in a Student
Union Gallery exhibit "Ceramic
Sculpture and Print,"April 8-18 and the
opening is Friday April 8, 7-9 p.m. But
don't wait until then. Make the trip to
the Health Sciences Library, and see
confident illusions of sphenoid
sculpture and spilling anatomy. A
VW
ART
Interpretation of
MFA '91
Terminal Attire, 1990
relief print, 24 x 12"
by Rick Teng
defeated mother clutching her baby.
Next to this totalitarian image is a pile of
dead bodies. Since the title has a
religious definition, what then, comes
first, the cloud segment or the surgical
segment? If the surgical is the first
portion of the message, then the
surgeon has given birth to a child that is
doomed to die. So why give birth in the
first place? Either the child, along with
its mother, will face "execution," or the
child, as an adult, will die without a face,
without name nor justice. Then the title
mocks itself. If the cloud segment is the
first point of the message, then my
guess is that life continues after death,
as indicated by the birth sequence
below. Perhaps this exemplifies the
salvation of humanity; we will die, and
death as expressed here, is unjustified.
But life goes on, with a new soul to take
our place. Although many will die
without achieving a thing, and the
world is ultimately unjust, a newborn
child gives hope for a better future of
mankind. This newborn symbolizes the
next generation, and through better
education, the newborn may yet
become a good person and better still, a
good art critic. The latter interpretation
could be a favorable message; the
optimistic pro-life approach to life.
Sheldon Iskowitz's work merits
its own show in the same gallery. His
work is grotesque, alive, hideous, and
most importantly, pure human comedy.
In this respect, Sheldon is a social
Basically all of the
commentator.
characters involved in either his prints
or sculptures are caricatures of middle
and lower class city dwellers.
Gruesome faces, over-sized hands,
mouths, ears, and feet create a style that
crosses between Fat Albert and Van
Gogh's cynical, social studies of
"peasants." But Sheldon's art is his
own, without a sign of pretention
anywhere. One sculpture reveals a
breasty, Black policewoman beating an
old, Black homeless man with a billy
club. This glazed ceramic piece strikes
me as a sort of racism that goes beyond
the color of the skin. It is racism that
centers on the social status of the
individual in society. Behind this, a
large black and white depiction of an
apartment on fire with faces screaming
or staring outside each window
accompanies it. The back-drop intensifies the wall-less diorama-like dramatization even more.
Terminal Attire is a colored
print of a coat hanger covered by a
When I saw the program
book, I knew it was going to be a good
show. The works seemed to be linked
in a "psycho-realistic" ideal.
Bertha Steinhardt Gutman's
works are oil on canvas or linen; lightly
colored, loosely fresh and illustrative.
Still life is the central aspect in her
paintings. Although the figures and
objects are placed in a randomly
pimp-like feathered hat, a rich man's
ordered manner, these "things" elude to
and a gas mask smugly placed
robe
a dramatic and unmistakably uneven
the hat like a face. The
underneath
perspective. The effect is interesting.
this "person" has
behind
wallpaper
Background details are almost minimal.
and yellow missiles as brick
white
still
however,
In Resurrection,
designs. Is this supposed to be funny?
life plays a small part in this dream-like
My first impression is that of black
and religious theme. Clouds above, held
humour that is all too realistic and eerily
by baby angels, reveal a vision of death,
Money and death. Sheldon's
while a surgeon holds the feet of an sinister.
black contour lines and
vibrated
of
uses
upside-down bloody newborn baby
colors generate a
intense
bright
beneath. The surgeon and his pro- or
that transposed my
tension
hysterical
anti-abortion baby are surrounded by
of wartime during
a
subvision
into
eyes
drapes or curtains. This is the only
An insane holocaustic
era.
nuclear
the
Gutman painting on display that has
portrait that seems pyschotically casual
intense colorization. This Eakins-like at best. A day in the life of a self-made
scenery (The Gross Clinic ) is dramatic millionaire of the nuclear holocaust
and seminaJy contemporary. The
age? I am reminded of the war in the
prophetic vision revealed in the clouds
Persian Gulf. I think of the civilians
has a soldier aiming his rifle at a.
Scenes
the middle are all dimly translucentliving in that region, particularly within
the battle zones and in Israel. Is this a They are made by sections of dark
rendition of The Rich Meet Dr. green and blue stained glass, pieced
together by cruel black metal nets.
Strangelove? To laugh or cry is probably the only appropriate response to this Light shines from the inside of most of
the works. They look radioactive.
Black Light satire.
Spirituality and radioactivity are
Richard Anderson's work is
strangely mixed together by a single
somewhat repetitous, despite the skillful
application of this repetition. The bio- light. I am inspired (or should I say,
wired?). Luba's heavy sculptures
morphic, undersea-like images are
either serene or nightmarish, depending
remind me of medieval artillery pieces
or burned Medieval torture devices
upon your mood. To say that it is
serene is because the colors are lucid disassembled and formed into warand slippery. The muscle-like curves affected objects and furnitures. But the
feel very natural, and life is created or light inside them is starting to make me
glow, too.
enhanced by the irredescence of blue
Overall I am trying to figure
and green. The paintings are close-ups
out this MFA show. Remembering that
of some imaginative inner exploration
the artists' works are morbid, hideous,
of a muscle fiber, a clearly abstract
nightmarish, radioactive, etc., I have
perspective. What seems nightmarish
come to the conclusion (or confusion)
about the works is that these images
look like the inside of an ear (ear drum, that recent history is seriously affecting
our patterns of thought.
etc., etc.). Boy, am I really hearing it.
How can one label this show as
The Anderson sculptures look
a whole when the artists are divided in
like underwater plants of all kinds, from
their objectives but at the same time
floating seaweed to chandelier-like
sculpture
the
with
singledly uniformed from the influence
problem
The
species.
presentation is that there are too many of recent political, economic, environmental, social and spatial disasters? To
sculptures, thus injecting the observer
into a cluttered and tiresome atmo- make art out of these issues causes me
to think of Post-Modernism in the Postsphere.
Cold War manual labor tradition. These
Luba Andres' scuplture exhibit
four graduate art students have worked
on the other side of the gallery is very
hard for their off-the-wall and pecuinteresting. A part of a tree, a huge ball
liarly distant serial presentations. Good
a
cart
and chain that hangs on nothing,
show! "
placed
in
(or
saint)
Mary
with
Mother
'I
i
1.
--
Themes of
Ms
xii
Synthetic Pregnancy
by MJ xii
Walking past the Health
Sciences Library one may have noticed
a representation of someone reaching
into his skull, and a colored ceramic
representation of the sphenoid bone that
is frighteningly anatomically correct.
Are these the ravings of drug induced
medical students, or perhaps renditions
made by cyberpunk anatomical
Relax, they are the
illustrators?
futuristic and fanciful "Sculptures by
Con Artist" on display until about the
middle of February.
The Dali-esque display which
features printed text, copies of earlier
..
-,
paintings, and eerily detailed ceramic
sculpture, whimsically presents visions
of a high-tech feminism, a world where
evolution and technologies combine to
resolve pressing social issues of femme
and family. Con Artist believes that
social issues ranging from war, to
abortion and PMS, can all be solved in
the future through medical cessation of
menstruation, test-tube babies and
father-bearing synthetic wombs.
"I think women shouldn't be
baby machines ... technology is the
answer to social issues" said the 42-year
old Stony Brook student, and singleparent of a 10-year old daughter. She
continued on page 18
February.7.;.-.1_991- *-page 19
A Gospel--
by John Sealy
Every year, two weeks after
Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday,
Afro-American history and culture
permeates college campuses and other
institutions. This, an almost excluded
portion of the fundamental components
making up this nation, is here celebrated
with pride.
Brookhaven National
Laboratory hosted the Tenth Annual
Gospel Extravaganza in accordance
with Black History Month.
The Afro-American Culture
Club (AACC) presented this wonderful
event, chaired by Bruce Penn (who also
offered the closing remarks). In the
introduction of this dynamic affair, a
plaque was presented to Anna Brown of
Kansas City. Dwight C. Brown, Anna's
deceased son (who founded the AACC)
was also commemorated.
Francis Ligon the Master of
Ceremonies for the evening spoke next,
but before speaking a single word, fire
came from her lungs, transformed into
a musical melody. This introduction,
worthy only of a saint, became a nerve
stimulation, activating a response from
the group that can only be triggered by
divine power.
"To praise the Lord Jesus," Ms.
Ligon said in summation,
"is the
unquestionable reason for this event."
The next appearance was by
the East End Choir. Wearing white
shirts and black trousers, the group
marched down the center aisle as if
coming from out from amongst the
audience, to stand out, and lift the Name
of the Lord. "Hallelujah praise the
Lord," sang sixty strong voices, united
with piano and drum.
Four female voices came forward
singing, "Ever praise His name/ God is
the captain of the sea/ He is a good God/
Alpha and Omega/ the beginning and
the end/ He led them to the Promised
Land/ He can do the same for me and
you." "Ever praise His name," was
repeated in exultation.
Then one male voice rang out,
singing, "When I think about what God
has done for me I think how great is
He." The six foot five figure thundered,
"Jesus Christ is the way," as applause
rose within the auditorium. A chorus,
56 voices strong, repeated, "Where is
our faith in God."
Next came a break, an
announcement, and Psalm 100, as
Francis Ligon, one of the four female
voices, introduced the Young Adult
Choir from Somerset, New Jersey.
A poem was chanted in the
context of Africa: "Freedom, Freedom
in Africa where we are Free/ Before I
would be a slave, I will go to my grave."
A skit came next coming from,'
voices hidden by dark pleated curtains.'
A multitude of young and adult singers,
in single file, came from the right, all
clothed in black and a white bow on
each left shoulder. Soft voices began,
"Sing to you O lord." Before long this
vocal spirit magnified to a roar. "Right
on," they exploded, "no man can hinder
His will in the morning!!"
Another short play began: "Get
to the back of the bus, woman! Get to
the back, nigger! So that this white
person can sit. 'No,' she cried!"
TUN\IES
Extravaganza
Booker T., Malcolm X, DuBois,
King and all, have cleared a new path.
"I have a dream," the proverbial speech
of Rev. King was next, as the choir
continued, an interlude singing,"All of
that is over."
Poems continued: "In 1990
Douglas Wilder became the first black
governor. Dr. Ben Carson, Black, the
first to successfully separate Siamese
Twins joined at the head. Nat King
Cole, Black, the first to host his own TV
show. Then, the first time, a Black wins
the US Open."
A song, soft, and almost a solo,
came from the man at the piano, as the
triangular choir astonished a sold-out
auditorium. People dressed well as if at
a Sunday service.
"I am gonna make it, I do
believe I am" was uplifted as the
Somerset choir in a wrap-around
motion left the stage in single file to the
right. To me, this seems important since
disorder and discourse was not to be
found here. "I'll make it" was sung by a
very young Ladonna Smith.
Her
director Beth Davis, President Michael
Pinnex, and that wholesome choir
almost brought tears raining down
from us.
The exciting Stephen Sisters
came next, a well established group of
eight. They sarig, danced, hummed,
drummed, and praised the Lord on the
stage, then off the stage, as if the old
routine was not going to do it at this
celebration. I then felt that again; the
Holy Spirit had a hold of them.
The fourth group needed no
introduction. They, the Institutional
Radio Choir, had a gold record in 1968,
and the Village Voice had offered
compliments for their achievements.
President Bush's 1989 inaugural
reception was pleased to have them, a
tremendous honor for this choir. They
brought a good crowd to Carnegie Hall
and Madison Square Garden.
By the second sentence, the
congregation were made to lovingiy
greet their surrounding neighbors. "I
will praise Him" was preceded by a
declaration from Brother Williams that
his main job there that night was not to
sing songs but to win souls.
"I thank you for one more day"
was followed by acknowledgement
from their leader that a son on drugs or
in the Persian Gulf are not excluded
from Blessed assurance. "We know that
there is someone perpetually there and
as steady as a rock, to whom we can
turn to. This is Good News."
The final song was presumably
intended to lift the roof off the
auditorium without interrupting its
splendid architecture.
A standing
ovation said nothing descriptive of this
finale. How about opening the gates of
Heaven to let us all in?
April Dunegain, for the most
part, made this article possible, with her
guidance and edification at this spirited
event.
Sister Dunegain, also the
programme manager for the event, was
uplifted in song for her purity of heart
before God by the Dynamic Stephen
Sisters.
Francis Ligon closed the event
by leading the audience in the Black
National Anthem, "Lift Ev'ry Voice and
Sing." A
WF
Randy Weston
Jazz Seeing its Roots
by James F. Barna
In the first concert of the new year
at Stony Brook's Staller Center, the
International Art of Jazz provided a
featured performer worthy of Black
History Month. Randy Weston, who
appeared on February 2, brought to the
stage a fine jazz performance that
recognized such greats as Monk and
Ellington yet interspersed traditional
tribal melodies and rhythms, performing jazz that proudly showed its origin
-andhistory.
This is significant because while
jazz has its origins in Africa, the tie to
Africa seems lost. This is partly due to
the fact that while the legends of jazz
are black, its listeners are often white.
Also, African culture and music has
been suppressed in the U.S.
Weston, however, grew up in the
U.S., learned jazz, and spent much of his
adult life in Africa, absorbing its cultural
heritage. Much of his music is derived
from the traditional Black musicians of
Morocco.
Randy Weston's trio consists of
Weston on piano, Talib Kibwe on
soprano, alto, and baritone saxophone,
as well as flute, and Joe Gaines on
conga and auxiliary percussion. It's
through this trio and its instrumentation
that Weston's international jazz sings.
The titles of Weston's compositions
display the love he has of traditional
music. The pieces he played include
"African Sunrise," "Limbo Jazz," "Nigerian Mambo," and a Moroccan
inspired piece called "The Healers."
This piece he prefaced by telling of
tribal healers who practiced their art
through music. He began "We believe
in the ancestors, the elders, thousands
and thousands of years old...."
This piece was perhaps the most
affecting of the evening. It began with a
hushed melody on the piano, a melody
that spoke of ancient fields in a long hot
land, barren and empty. Then, with a
quick change, the flute sang a melody
bursting with spirit, a strong proud life,
tied with nature. From this, Kibwe
improvised, playing the flute and providing his own harmony through his
breath.
The piece then traveled back to the
U.S. as Weston shifted to a masterful bebop solo showing the diversity and
breadth of the group. Throughout this
Joe Gaines provided the setting through
various instruments. He set the rhythm
with the congas, and also provided
mood with the claves, sleigh bells, the
kabasa as well as the mbira.
In "Nigerian Mambo," Joe Gaines
showed how versed the trio was in the
music of the African Continent. He
played a mysterious conga solo that
contained the strength of tribal festival.
He further accompanied himself in
chant, building in energy and speed,
and the other two performers gave
responses. The solo was a testament to
the reverence the Weston Trio gives to
the ancestors.
Since Weston rarely appears in the
U.S. this show was one of those rare
musical events which remain in the
memories of those who attended. There
is jazz at the Staller Center and it is
sweet. AE
kwi